Sailor Moon: Eternal Universe Part 1 - What other choice do I have?
by Sailor Moonie Fan
Summary: Serena and Sabrina have ended their band and popstar careers and have headed back home. While Sabrina is having fun, Serena can't say the same. Old acquaintances appear, and her past begins to haunt her present. When danger is imminent, she must face making a decision that she hasn't considered in quite a while, and it could change her life for better, or for worse.
1. Chapter 1: Homecoming

_**Disclaimer: Though this would be a dream come true, I DO NOT OWN SAILOR MOON!**_

Chapter One: Homecoming

"What do you think I should wear for Thomas? My pink dress and tights, or my jeggings and orange halter top?" Sabrina Johnson asked her friend.

"Mmm...how about the pink dress?" The said-friend responded.

Sabrina looked in the mirror of the airport bathroom for a moment, holding up her pink dress in front of her. "Yeah. The orange top and jeggings."

Serena rolled her eyes as she she checked her own outfit, making sure there were no wrinkles or anything out of place.

"You're going to wear that?" Sabrina pointed to the simple ensemble Serena had on of jeans and a green top with purple beading near the neckline.

"What?" Serena asked defensively. "It's conservative and cute."

"Yeah, but you're gonna need a more outrageous outfit to get to guys," Sabrina explained, flipping her blonde hair back as she continued to gaze at her reflection in the mirror.

"In case you forgot Sabrina, I'm single, and I intend to stay single for quite a while."

"Well Serena. You never know. Mr. Wonderful could be waiting for you at the gate when we get back home."

"Uh huh. Sure. Whatever you say Sabrina." Serena grabbed their bags. "Come on. I want to sit at the gate. That way, we won't almost get on the wrong plane." Serena smirked, her eyes on Sabrina's reflection.

"It was pretty darn close!"

"Yeah. A Japan Airways flight to Tokyo is close to Air France. I forgot I was traveling with you; otherwise, I would've been more careful."

* * *

So the two friends reached their final destination after a 5 hour plane ride. **(Note: Just imagine a place where they could be living. It is going to be a fictional place. I haven't come up with anything, but if you have any suggestions, please let me know through the reviews, and I'll consider including it and will give you credit!).**

They got through customs and were at the luggage carousel. While Serena was waiting patiently for their bags, Sabrina was very impatient and looking to see Thomas. Just as the carousel bell rang, Serena heard her friend shriek.

"Just the carousel Sabrina. Don't have a heart attack."

So while Serena waited for another half hour for their bags, Sabrina looked to around, only to still not see Thomas.

"Where is he?!" She asked exaggeratedly.

"He'll be here..."

"THOMAS!" Sabrina squealed as she went to tackle her boyfriend.

"Hey!" He pulled her in for a rather heated kiss. Serena shook her head as she turned to the luggage carousel and sought out their bags.

* * *

"Ugh!" Serena groaned as she lifted the last, and might she add, heaviest bag onto the cart. Of course, Sabrina had to pack her bags so that they would carry the maximum weight allowance possible. Serena was a bit more careful in packing her things, and she thanked herself for that.

She turned to search for her friend who had disappeared a few minutes ago. When she spotted her, Serena couldn't help the grin that came on her face. Sabrina was too busy talking to Thomas with her arms wrapped around him. Serena stretched for a second, then turned to push the trolley.

She stopped everything she did, and maybe even stopped thinking when she locked eyes with a guy. He was young, just one year older than herself. He had jet black hair that hung a little over his eyes, giving him a rather mysterious look. What amazed her was his eyes, as blue as the ocean.

'You never know. Mr. Wonderful could be waiting for you at the gate.' Sabrina's words echoed through Serena's head.

"Hey. You gonna let me take that baggage for you?" Thomas asked, motioning to her white-knuckles gripping the handle.

Serena was shaken out of her reverie. "Oh? Right. Thanks," she said absently as she let go off the trolley and began approaching the man, who seemed to be staring right at her and coming towards her. She slowed down to a stop when she was about a foot away from him.

"D...Darien?"

"Serena."

They didn't say anything. It had been so long since.

Maybe too long.

**So this is it. The official first chapter of the first part of Sailor Moon: Eternal Universe. I know it isn't much, but hopefully it'll get better as time goes on. I can't guarantee I'll always be able to update often, because I am a first year college student. I am also pre-med, so that probably already gives you an idea as to how busy I'll be, but I will try to the best of my ability to get more chapters out. In a sense, it is relaxing to write, especially with a stressful college life. This chapter just so happened to be hanging out in my iPod touch for a long time (to be more specific, I wrote it on January 29th of this year, 2013). Thanks for reading, and if you can, please review and follow!**


	2. Chapter 2: Long Time, No See

_**Disclaimer: Though this would be a dream come true, I DO NOT OWN SAILOR MOON!**_

Chapter 2: Long Time, No See

Serena's mouth opened and closed, but she was at a loss of words. Never had she expected him, of all people, to be there.

He wasn't saying anything either. His eyes just stared at hers intensely. It was like he was trying to reach deep into her soul. The question was why?

* * *

Darien stared into unfamiliar brown eyes. 'She can't possibly be Serena. The one who's Sailor Moon, the Moon Princess, the Meatball Head. The one person who knew me better than myself.'

The Serena he knew had blonde hair and blue eyes and wasn't very tall. This girl, no. She couldn't really be that same Serena. Yet, despite the shock she held in her eyes, there was something else there: familiarity. This was not the first time she had seen him. Far from it.

"Hey!" Sabrina bumped into Serena, who broke eye contact and turned to Sabrina.

"Yeah? Is something wrong?"

"No, but if we're all done, then maybe we should go...home? Or at least just go away from here. I think I might get airsick if I have to see another airplane right now."

Serena had grin at that. "Okay," Serena answered.

"Lead the way, Thomas!" Sabrina pointed in the direction of the carousel.

"You mean that way," Thomas corrected her, motioning toward the big sign that said "Airport Exit" on it.

"I...knew that. I was just testing you," Sabrina claimed. She then locked arms with Thomas and began walking, leaving Serena and Darien to follow awkwardly behind them.

The couple in front of them was whispering and giggling. Serena looked down as they walked, watching the tiles pass by under her feet.

"How are you?"

Serena quickly looked to her left at Darien, who posed the question.

"Oh, me? I'm good...Yeah." She turned away for a moment then faced him. "How about you?"

"Good."

She nodded her head and looked ahead. Her fingers held her bag just a little tighter. Darien had his hands in the pockets of his jeans.

The long walk to the car finally reached an end. Serena's eyebrow popped up as she saw Thomas's car. "A Cadillac Escalade?" She looked at Thomas. "Nice."

"Thanks," he responded as he opened the trunk of the SUV. He and Darien started loading the bags into the back.

"Here. Let me help," Serena intervened, lifting the heaviest bag and pushing into the trunk.

"My, my. You're quite strong, aren't you?" Thomas teased.

Serena rolled her eyes and got into the backseat next to Sabrina, who was already looking at her phone.

"Really Sabrina? Do you need to be on the phone right now?"

"Yes! I need to get updated on the latest news."

Thomas and Darien got into the front seats. "Alright, is everyone ready to go?" Thomas asked as he turned on the engine.

"Yes! Let's go!" Sabrina answered.

It took them a few minutes to get out of the airport, and finally, after many traffic lights, they were on the highway.

"Thomas. How long is it to get to the house?" Sabrina asked.

"Well it took us about an hour to get from there to the airport, so I'm thinking we should get back there in the same amount of ti-"

"OMG!"

"What?! What's wrong Sabrina? Is everything okay?!" Serena turned to her friend, concerned by the sudden outburst.

"You won't believe who's going to be singing at the video awards."

Serena sighed in relief, and then curiosity took over. "Who is it?"

"Joe and the boys."

"Oh really?" Serena asked nonchalantly.

"Yup. But that's not what I freaked out about. Guess who they say will be this surprise guest star that's going to be singing a duet with Joe?"

"Who?" Serena turned to look out the window at the other cars on the highway.

"You."

"What?!" Serena whipped her head in Sabrina's direction. "Where did you read that?!"

"It's written right here," Sabrina handed her smartphone to Serena, who immediately began reading the article.

"He told, or rather _leaked_ it to the paparazzi, that I'm going to be singing with him? Is he insane?" Serena returned the phone to Sabrina.

"Yes, and apparently everyone thinks that not only is this true, but that you two are getting back together."

"They _what_?!"

Sabrina nodded. "There are so many comments on here asking whether this is true. A lot of our fans refuse to believe it."

"I'm glad some people aren't."

"Oh! Joe's doing a radio show…today…no. Right now!" Sabrina leaned towards Thomas and looked over his shoulder. "Thomas. Change the channel to 95.5!"

Thomas granted the request, and sure enough, Serena heard the voice of her ex-fiancé over the radio.

"So Serena will be joining you on stage for a duet at the video awards?"

"Um…I can't really reveal that."

"But there has been leaked reports confirming her appearing. What do you have to say?"

"No comment really."

"How about this whole news of you two getting back together? What do you have to say about that? Is there any truth to that?"

He laughs, then continues on. "I can't really say anything about our relationship status…I mean. If there _is_ even a relationship between us." His tone was rather suggestive.

"Uh-huh. Okay. Whatever you say Joe."

Serena groaned. "Turn that thing off, Thomas. Please." He turned it off.

"So Serena. I didn't know you and Joe were planning on getting back together," he cheekily admitted.

Serena narrowed her eyes and laughed. "Ha, ha. That's funny." She rolled her eyes, then turned to look out the window. "He's probably getting back at me for saying what I did in that tell-all TV interview." She then looked at Thomas. "And in case there is serious speculation of this, I'm going to _personally_ look to it that this rumor is destroyed."

"How?" Sabrina asked.

"Simple. Post a video on our YouTube channel. Maybe you could link to it on your Twitter?"

"Sure! Good idea."

Serena turned away. "Gosh. I can't see what I saw in him! I have such bad taste in guys."

Darien winced a little. He _was_ after all one of the guys she dated. 'Does she even remember that we dated? Hm…'

"So Darien! How have you been? I haven't seen you since Christmastime when you guys came to visit."

"I've been doing alright Sabrina. Thanks for asking."

"Wait. I didn't know that. I thought just Thomas came over." Serena looked to Sabrina.

"I must have forgotten to tell you. Sorry!" She shrugged. "Wow. Now that I think about it, it's been a long time since you two have seen each other." Sabrina turned to Serena. "Exactly how long ago was it that you and Darien last saw each other?"

Serena was a little uncomfortable with the question. She had tried to forget that particular moment of the past; however, as it was brought up, she had a flashback.

* * *

_Serena stood in front of the apartment door, her left hand yanking at the ponytail of blonde hair that was flowing out of her left meatball. She stared at the door, trying to see if it could provide her with the answers to the questions swarming inside her head._

_'Why did he want to see me at such a late hour? Is everything okay? I wonder if the Negaverse is back, or we have a new enemy?' Somehow, though, she knew that wasn't it. It wasn't some new enemy to battle. This was something else, something more serious. She lifted her right hand and carefully knocked on the door. She heard shuffling behind it, and then the chain lock._

_It opened to reveal her boyfriend._

_"Hi Darien! I came just like you asked me to…"_

_"Come in," he demanded, ushering her through the door and into his apartment._

_Serena was shocked, needless to say, but attempted to maintain her happy facade. She twirled around to face him, a bright smile on her face. "So I was wondering why you wanted me to come here."_

_"We need to break up." The statement came out of his mouth as soon as she had closed hers._

_"Wait. What? Did you just say we need to break…to break up?"_

_"Yes. I did. Glad to see that went through to you."_

_"But…but why? Is something wrong? Is there something I did to you? Why? Why do you think we need to break up?!"_

_"It's not that I think. I _know_ we need to break up."_

_"But why? I thought we were happy together."_

_"That's just it! You _think_ we're happy together. But I know we _aren't_ happy together. At least, I'm not."_

_Serena hid the hurt well. "So…then…why aren't you happy?"_

_"I've been thinking lately about this whole, 'We're destined to be together thing.' I know I used it as an excuse for when I broke up with you before, but then I started thinking, and I soon realized that…I really _don't_ like how I have to be with you because of our past. I want to be with the person I choose to be with." He turned to her. "Don't you feel that way too?"_

_"Yes, I do. But the thing is…is that…you're that person. I don't love you solely because of the past we had together. I love you, the you you are now, here in the present." She then added more quietly, "I chose to be with you."_

_"Well, I don't want to be with you."_

_"Why? Or rather, why not? Is it…is it something about my personality? Or…" She didn't want to say it, but she did. "Is it someone else?"_

_"It _is_ sort of someone else, but more so than that I don't want to date _you_ anymore. I mean, you're nice and all, but truth is, you're quite lacking. You barely try to work hard in school. You're always dependent on me and the other scouts to save you. The only things you can think about are food and games. It's just that…I don't know if that's the kind of person I want to be with. I think it would've been easier for me to accept you if I wasn't forced to be with you."_

_Serena stood quietly, listening to everything he was saying to her. "So now what?"_

_"Now? Now, I wanted to let you know that I am officially breaking up with you. I'm sorry, but…I don't think this relationship is right for me."_

_"I understand."_

_"Do you really?"_

_"Yes, I understand completely, and…I respect your decision. It's getting late now, and I need to return home." She walked to the door, then turned to face him. "Thanks for telling me about how you feel. It's good to know you weren't worried about being honest with me. I'm sorry you felt forced into our relationship. It really is best that it end." She stopped to gain composure for a moment. "Goodbye Darien."_

_Serena shut the door behind her, and leaned against it quietly as she began to sob silently, tears streaming down her cheeks._

_'Nobody wants me anymore. I'm just a big bother to everyone!' She realized where she was, so to avoid making a scene, she gathered herself together and went home. On the way back, she sadly glanced at his apartment building. Back then, she didn't know that this would be the last time she would see it before a long period of time passed._

* * *

"Serena? Serena? Serena?! SERENA!"

"Huh? What?" Serena looked around quickly before her eyes landed on Sabrina.

"You totally spaced out."

"I did?"

Sabrina nodded slowly. "Is something wrong?"

"No," she answered a little too quickly.

"Well, while you were off in Neverland, Sabrina had asked you about when you last saw Darien," Thomas reminded her.

"Oh yeah. I think it was, about...five years ago, give or take a year."

"Is that true Darien?" Sabrina asked curiously.

"Uh...yeah. Yeah. It was five years ago."

"Man. Talk about long time, no see." Thomas took an exit. "Hey Sabrina. Do you mind if we go visit a friend of mine for a while? He's a photographer, and I have some pictures he took for me to pick up from him."

"Sure. Oh, oh! Maybe we could get a professional picture of the two of us taken? Could we do that Thomas, please?! You promised!"

"No problem. He won't mind at all." Thomas then glanced at Darien. "How about I drop you and Serena off at the house? I'm sure you guys don't want to come with us."

"Oh yeah! And Darien, you could show Serena around the house!" Sabrina added excitedly.

"Oh? Um...sure, I guess," Serena answered, not seeing another way out of the upcoming situation.

"How about you Darien?" Sabrina asked.

"Sounds fine to me."

"Awesome!" Sabrina went on to chatter about some news she read. Serena was totally consumed by the thought of being in the house with Darien. Alone.

'Boy. This is going to be awkward.'

**So here's the second chapter. It's super long, I know, but I couldn't a good place to start the next chapter. I unfortunately have been pounded with tons of work from college since the semester is coming to an end, so I thought I should get this chapter out there. It's pretty fresh, so I might change it. Please review and follow and tell others about it! If you have any suggestions, leave them in the review section! Thank you!**


	3. Chapter 3: Starting Fresh

_**Disclaimer: Though this would be a dream come true, I DO NOT OWN SAILOR MOON!**_

Chapter 3: Starting Fresh

Thomas pulled up to a gate, and with the press of a remote, the gate opened, allowing his car to slip into the compound. Serena gasped as the large mansion came into view.

"This…is this…" She couldn't even continue her sentence.

Thomas nodded. "This is home."

The four soon got out of the car and unloaded the bags.

"Here Darien," Thomas called out, tossing a key chain to Darien who caught it. "You can take Serena inside and show her around. Sabrina and I will be back soon. We'll make sure to get some food on the way back."

"Sounds good Thomas. See you." Darien waved at Sabrina and Thomas as they piled back into the car and drove off. He then looked toward Serena, who seemed mystified by her surroundings. "Um…"

Serena then realized that they were alone. She turned to Darien. "Oh. Sorry."

"It's fine." Darien walked to the front door and used the key Thomas gave him to open it. He walked inside, bringing some of the bags with him. Serena was still looking around outside. She seemed too distracted to realize that Darien already moved all of the luggage into the house. "Um…Serena?"

"Yes?"

"Do you want to come in?"

"Huh? Oh, right!" She walked up the steps, but stopped at the threshold of the door.

"You alright?" Darien asked her, standing on the other side.

"Yes, I am." But she wasn't really. This house…it held memories. Memories she didn't have. 'This…this is where Mom and Dad lived. Thomas and I…we lived here. In _this_ house.'

She placed her right foot over the threshold and stepped into the house. She was surprised by what she saw.

Inside was absolutely beautiful. The floors were made of white marble. Two staircases curved on each side of the room and led to the upstairs. Serena's eyes finally landed on the chandelier in the middle of the room.

"Wow!" She exclaimed slowly, eyes very wide as she took in everything in front of her.

"I…guess I'll bring these bags to the rooms," Darien started as he carried some of the bags.

"Let me help you." Serena grabbed Sabrina's bags, knowing they were the heaviest.

"Okay. So…this is the main hall. I can show you upstairs first." Serena followed Darien up the staircase. They took a left and stopped in front of the very first room on the left side of the hall. Darien placed the bags he held down and turned the doorknob. "This is Sabrina's room." He allowed Serena to walk in and look around.

"Somehow, it doesn't surprise me that this is her room," she mused, examining the room. The furniture was all made of polished wood. The curtains on the window were gold colored. On the bed, the cover and pillowcases were creme-colored. The walls were beige, and from the ceiling hung a small chandelier. Serena smiled a little. Of course Sabrina would want a bedroom which looks like that of royalty. She placed the bags into the closet, which happened to be a walk-in. She came out of the room and shut the door behind her.

"This room is Thomas's. He likes to keep it locked when he isn't home."

Serena nodded, staring at the wood door across from Sabrina's room. Darien then led her past about six rooms, three on each side of the hall. "Those are guest bedrooms, and the two in the middle across from each other are bathrooms." They reached the end of the hallway, where there were another two doors on either side of the hall, along with a door between them where the hall ended. "This," Darien began, pointing to the wooden black door. "Is my room. And that one," he pointed across to the other door. "Is your room."

Serena looked at the white door. She opened it and walked in. The walls had pink and yellow stripes about a foot or two in width. The bed was queen sized with pink covers on it. There was a little seating area near the window and doors which she assumed led to a bathroom. There were a few other pieces of furniture in there, like a wardrobe and a lounge chair.

"It's cute. I like it," she spoke aloud, speaking more to herself.

"I can show you the rest of the house, or if you want to rest, that's fine too."

"No. It's alright. I can rest later. I'd like to see the rest of the house."

* * *

So Darien gave a basic tour of the house to Serena and ended it in the backyard. Serena was amazed. Their parents were obviously very rich to be able to afford this home. Serena couldn't help but feel bad though that she couldn't recall the home. After all, before her parents died, she did live here.

Darien and Serena were relatively silent, not speaking anything more than necessary. The silence was annoying, especially since it was something Serena hadn't truly experienced for a _long _time, being a popstar and everything.

Often times, during the tour, Darien would steal quick glances at Serena. She was obviously quite fascinated with the whole house and everything she was seeing; however, there were subtle hints which indicated that she wasn't very happy. For example, when they walked by the bedroom that he pointed out was her parents', she stared at the locked door solemnly, especially since Darien told her that Thomas refused to open it. Later on, they passed a painting of a couple walking in the rain together. She gazed at it for a long time, as if she were reminiscing about something, and shook her head slightly as she looked away.

Little did he know that the scene depicted in the picture was one similar to an actual experience Serena had, with Joe.

* * *

_"I'm glad we were able to get some time to spend together, Joe," an 18 year old Serena said as she walked with her boyfriend. It was a fall evening, and it was raining. The couple was strolling on a street sidewalk._

_"Me too. I feel like I haven't seen you in forever," Joe answered, adjusting the umbrella over their heads to avoid their getting exposed to the rain._

_"Same here."_

_"We should change that though."_

_Serena looked to Joe. "What do you mean?" She asked curiously._

_"We should settle down. Think about our future together."_

_Serena blushed lightly, knowing what he meant. "I can't wait for that." She wrapped her arm around his and placed her head on his shoulder, sighing happily. "I love you Joe."_

_"I love you too."_

* * *

Serena was now in her room. Once the tour had ended, she went upstairs to her bedroom to get settled. She found that she had a walk-in closet like Sabrina, except it was a slight bit smaller, not that she really minded that. She unpacked her suitcases and put everything neatly away. She then went into her bathroom to take a nice, long, hot shower, something she hadn't been able to do in almost two days, as she and Sabrina were traveling pretty much non-stop.

Serena walked out of the shower, using a towel to dry her hair. She was now wearing blue jeans and a red cashmere sweater. She slipped her feet into her pink fuzzy slippers and stood in front of the mirror of her wardrobe, debating what she would do next. 'Maybe I'll go take a walk outside. I just hope I don't get lost.'

She opened her bedroom door, only to be face-to-face with Darien, who was standing in his bedroom doorway.

"Oh…uh…"

"Hi."

Serena stuttered a little. "H…hi."

"Uh…"

"I think…um" Serena was saved by the sound of the front door opening.

"We're back!" Sabrina called out.

Serena started to walk forward, as did Darien. "Go ahead," he motioned for her to go.

"Thanks," she mumbled as she quickly went down the hall.

The two of them headed down the stairs and came down to see Thomas and Sabrina collapsing onto the living room couch.

Serena smiled a little. "Did you guys have fun?"

"Yes we did! It was amazing!"

"Somehow, I feel like you beg to disagree Thomas," Serena teased as she looked to Thomas, who looked rather miserable.

"I do _beg_ to disagree. We would've gotten back here an hour ago if a certain _someone_ didn't want to get, like, 100 pictures taken of us." He looked pointedly at Sabrina.

"Hey! They needed to be perfect!" Sabrina said defensively.

"Well, let's see them!" Serena said, sitting down next to Sabrina, who was holding the pictures in her hand.

Thomas got up, rolling his eyes at the two girls. "Soooo Darien. What have you been up to?"

"Oh? Nothing too fun. But I guess given what you've been doing, I've been having a blast."

"Please...don't remind me." Thomas clapped his hands together. "So. What's for dinner?"

"Dinner?" Sabrina asked.

"Yeah. You know, the meal we eat at night?"

"Yes, I know that, but I didn't make anything." Sabrina turned to Serena. "Did you make anything?"

"No. I wasn't sure if you guys had plans."

"How about we just order pizza then?" Darien offered.

"Awesome idea, dude! I've been wanting to eat pizza for a while now!"

* * *

So Thomas called for a delivery of pizza to the mansion, and the four adults ate the pizza while talking about their lives. Well, actually, it was more like Sabrina describing her and Serena's lives as popstars, while Thomas informed the girls of the events in his and Darien's lives.

"Man, I am stuffed! I think I'm going to hit the hay," Sabrina declared as she got up from the table.

"Me too." Thomas got up to leave, but turned around. "You don't mind cleaning up, do you Serena?"

Serena shrugged, looking at Thomas. "No, not at all."

"No wait!" Serena and Thomas looked surprisingly at Darien after his outburst. "It's just that, I can clean up. I mean, since Serena's probably tired from all of the traveling."

"No, it's fine. I'm alright."

"No, really. I insist."

"Okay. Here's a crazy idea: How about _both_ of you clean up? That way, you'll get done faster." The two of them looked to each other and shrugged. "Awesome! Now get to it." He was walking towards the stairs and was a little far off, but they were still able to hear him say, "Boy, I'm good!"

Serena rolled her eyes, then went to assessing the current situation. "So...I guess we should get this stuff cleaned up, huh?"

Darien had spaced for a second. "Huh? Oh yeah."

So they quietly began putting away all of the papers and boxes, leaving the plates and silverware last.

"We can just pop these in the dishwasher," Serena claimed.

"Actually, we can't." Serena's eyebrows scrunched together, her eyes questioning. "It's not working right now, and Thomas has yet to call someone to fix it."

"Figures he wouldn't." Serena sighed, but perked up a little. "No worries. We can just wash them ourselves!" She turned to him. "I'll wash, and you can dry."

"But...well...okay." He shrugged as he assumed his position next to the dish rack, towels all ready.

So they washed all of the dishes they had just eaten from, but then Serena noticed that there were dishes from before they ate. "We might as well just wash these too."

If it weren't for the sounds of the water and the plates and utensils, there would've been an awkward silence between the two. Serena tried to think of something to talk about, but she couldn't. It wasn't that easy talking to someone she hadn't seen for five years, especially when the last time they actually saw each other was when they broke up.

They finally finished the dishes, and Serena leaned back against the counter. "Phew! Finally, all done!" She used her sleeve to wipe her sweaty forehead. "I don't think I've washed dishes since I was about fifteen!"

Darien smiled a little at that. She looked to him for a moment. She cleared her throat, getting his attention.

"Darien. Look. I know we had our...complicated past, but I don't want to let that dictate the present. We should just forget about everything that happened before, and...start fresh. Plus, I don't like this awkwardness between us. I want to be friends with you." She spoke genuinely.

"Yeah. Me too. I just didn't really know how to put it into words. But before we start fresh, I just wanted to say that …I'm sorry. For everything."

Serena nodded, understanding what he meant by everything. "I'm sorry too." She held out her hand. "So...no hard feelings?" She asked, a hopeful smile on her face.

A smile broke out on his face too as he shook her hand. "No hard feelings."

"Great! We can start on the right foot."

"Yeah. We can get to know each other...again." He looked straight in her eyes. "The right way."

Serena nodded. She gazed up at the clock. "Oh no! It's late!" She turned to him. "We should go to bed too."

"Yeah. I can't believe how fast time's going by!" Darien commented.

"Come on, let's head up." Serena let Darien go ahead of her. They finally got to the second floor and to their bedroom doors.

Serena yawned. "Oh! I _definitely_ need to get some sleep!"

"Good night Serena!"

"Good night Darien!"

They shut their doors and soon went to sleep.

* * *

Serena woke up bright and early at 6:00 AM. She showered, got dressed, and headed quietly downstairs. She knew Thomas and Sabrina were still asleep, as she heard snoring from both of their rooms. She wasn't too sure about Darien though. 'He was always an early bird,' she thought to herself as she reached the kitchen.

She went through the cupboards, looking at the food items in them, as well as the fridge.

'Perfect! I can make breakfast, _and_ enjoy myself a nice cup of tea!'

Serena had already made her tea and was sipping on it. At the same time, she was gathering ingredients to make homemade waffles. She was taking her last sip of tea.

"Serena?" A voice called out tentatively.

Serena turned around to find the source of the voice, and her eyes widened.

**My first cliffhanger! I finally see the satisfaction writers have when writing cliffhangers. I used to get _so_ annoyed by them!**

**Also, finally! I got another chapter done! I know it's a little slow, but trust me. It'll get better! There some new characters being introduced next chapter (well, they aren't _really_ new, but...well I won't give it away!). Please review, favorite, follow, etc. Thanks! And have a very wonderful Happy Thanksgiving!  
**


	4. Chapter 4: A Touching Reunion

_**Disclaimer: Though this would be a dream come true, I DO NOT OWN SAILOR MOON!**_

Chapter 4: A Touching Reunion

_Serena woke up bright and early at 6:00 AM. She showered, got dressed, and headed quietly downstairs. She knew Thomas and Sabrina were still asleep, as she heard snoring from both of their rooms. She wasn't too sure about Darien though. 'He was always an early bird,' she thought to herself as she reached the kitchen._

_She went through the cupboards, looking at the food items in them, as well as the fridge._

_'Perfect! I can make breakfast, __and__ enjoy myself a nice cup of tea!'_

_Serena had already made her tea and was sipping on it. At the same time, she was gathering ingredients to make homemade waffles. She was taking her last sip of tea._

_"Serena?" A voice called out tentatively._

_Serena turned around to find the source of the voice, and her eyes widened._

* * *

"Luna?"

"Serena…could that really be you?"

Serena put her cup aside and looked down at the cat. She nodded her head slowly. "Yeah, it's me."

"You look…so…different," Luna commented.

Serena pulled at her jet black hair and held a thick part of it in front of her. "Yeah…I guess this is pretty different from my blonde haired self." She looked at Luna nervously. She hadn't told Luna about her leaving, as the two of them got in a major fight at about the time when the scouts were plotting to kick Serena out. 'She must hate me now more than she ever did.'

"Why?'

Serena stared at Luna. "Why what?"

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I knew you would get mad at me for leaving. I mean, I pretty much ran away, neglecting my responsibilities, so you would've been justified to feel that way. I didn't know how to face you…"

"That isn't what I meant."

"Then…what did you mean?" Serena asked, confused.

"What I mean is why didn't you tell me the truth about yourself? Why did you hide the real Serena from me?" Serena's eyes widened in shock. "I had to watch you on television and read your book to realize who you really were, not the person I judged you to be." Luna paused for a moment. "I called you a crybaby, lazy, irresponsible, dumb, stupid, so many insults I aimed at you. I even told you that you didn't deserve to be Sailor Moon, and yet you stood and…just took it all. You didn't have to do that. You could've told me about your past," Luna ended, sounding hurt.

"Luna, let's be serious. Think to back then, and answer this question _honestly_: if I had told you the story of my past, would you have actually believed me? Wouldn't you have just insisted I was making up a crazy story as an excuse for my behavior?" Serena eyed Luna, who was about argue. Luna thought long and hard, then her head drooped, but Serena could see her shake her head. "So…I just figured, 'why say anything…if no one is going to believe me?'"

Luna was quiet. Serena examined the tiled floor of the kitchen. "I'm sorry."

Serena lifted her head up. "What?"

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry about how I treated you. I…I didn't respect you at all. I verbally abused you."

"That's not true…" She was cut off.

"Yes Serena. It is. I should've never been so awful to you, and I shouldn't have judged you like I did. I never gave you a chance to tell me everything about you, nor did I ever ask you."

"It's okay Luna. It's in the past. I forgave you back then, and I forgive you now. But I need to say sorry too. I…I could've told you about myself, but I chose not to. I shouldn't have hidden that from you. Can you forgive me?"

"Of course I can!" Luna ran to Serena, who crouched down to grab hold of Luna. She then stood up, cradling the cat in her arms. "Serena, I missed you a lot."

"Oh Luna! I missed you too!" Serena responded as she hugged Luna tightly to her chest.

* * *

Darien stood silently in the stairway, not wanting to interrupt the reunion between the two of them. 'She's right. None of us would've believed her.' He felt a pang of guilt hit him. He then continued listening.

'So…is it true Serena? Did your mom and dad, your adoptive ones, were they really _that _awful to you?" He didn't hear her respond verbally, but assumed that she nodded as Luna continued speaking. "Gosh, and they acted so normal when I saw them."

"I guess they mellowed down a little when you joined the family."

"But then, when did they, you know…"

"Disown me?" Serena sighed. "It was the day after you left the house and decided to move in with Mina and Artemis." She let out a bitter laugh. "Funny, I remember it like it happened just yesterday. I woke up that morning, and I had forgotten that you had left the day before. I was wondering to myself, 'Where's Luna?' Then it dawned on me. I walked down the stairs into the kitchen, hoping that there was something good to eat which would temporarily distract me, but when I got to the dining room table, my mom and dad were sitting. Dad was reading his paper, and Mom was just staring into space. I told them good morning, and no response. I tried to be funny and crack a joke, but the tension was really thick in that room. Finally, my mom told me to sit down, and her voice was…cold…demanding. Of course, I sat down without making a peep. I looked at each of them. Dad had yet to remove the paper from in front of his face. Then mom spoke up. She said, 'Serena. There's something we need to tell you.' So I asked what it was. 'We're disowning you.' I can still feel the shock that went through my whole body hearing that. I asked if I had heard correctly, and my Dad said I did hear him right. He lowered the paper and…well…he told me the truth."

"Serena? What did he say?" Luna prodded her on, knowing she needed to get this out of her system once and for all.

Serena took in a shaky breath. "He told me how the only reason why he and mom adopted me…was because once I turned 15, they would get a whole bunch of money from my parents, my _real_ parents. It was some weird clause written in their will that the adoptive family would get this much money from my parents' savings if they watched me for I think it was 10 years. That's why they had been so nice to all that time. If I had ever complained about them, then they would've lost the money. It made sense. They threatened me not to _ever_ complain about them, besides the regular old complaints that pretty much all teenagers make about their parents. So they had gotten the money. There was nothing in the will that said the money would be taken away if they disowned me. They did their research well. Yeah, so they told me that I was being disowned, that they got what they wanted, and now I had to leave. I was only able to take one bag of things with me. They…" She inhaled another shaky breath. "They kicked me out."

"Where did you go?"

"Far away from them, from everyone. I had secretly saved some money of my own, enough to get me a plane ticket, and I flew off to Waterfall Heights. Never looked back there since."

"Did you ever try to contact your parents?"

"Oh yes, I did. It took me many times to reach them, and when I finally did, they told me not to call and bother them, otherwise, they would file a restraining order against me for harassing them."

Silence filled the air now.

"Serena, promise me something."

"What is it Luna?"

"Promise me…that you'll never run off like that again. You have no idea how worried I was about you."

"I…I didn't know Luna…that you cared that much for me…I just assumed that you had come to hate me like everyone else did."

"I never hated you Serena. I was just…frustrated. Not to mention that I was heavily influenced by the girls to think and feel the way I did. Now, I know better. Much better."

"That's good to know." All of a sudden, her voice got a lot cheerier. "Now, how about I whip up some breakfast? The last thing I need is to have two cranky hungry people on my case about not making any food for them!"

Luna chuckled. "You're right about that! Thomas can get quite angry when he's hungry."

"Trust me. Sabrina is no better!" Serena added. The two laughed.

Darien heard the sound of pans and utensils in the kitchen as Serena prepared breakfast. 'I'll just…go back upstairs and hang out there. At least until Sabrina and Thomas wake up…whenever that is." Smiling to himself, he tiptoed up the stairs.

**Gosh, I love being on break! I've actually been able to update more! I hope you like this chapter! It's a little shorter than the previous two, but hopefully it's just as good, if not better! Please review, favorite, share, etc. Again, have a Happy Thanksgiving!**


	5. Chapter 5: Doctor Sterling

_**Disclaimer: Though this would be a dream come true, I DO NOT OWN SAILOR MOON!**_

Chapter 5: _Doctor_ Sterling

Serena was setting the dining table when she heard thumps on the stairs. She turned around to be greeted by two tired individuals.

"Rise and shine you two!" She called to them excitedly.

"Mmmm…" Thomas answered. Sabrina sounded like she was growling.

Serena's eyes widened. "Oh! You two are too tired. Oh well, I guess it looks like I'm going to have to eat these waffles I made all by myself."

Thomas and Sabrina's head popped up. "Waffles?!" They exclaimed. They ran towards Serena, ready to pounce her when she moved out of their way.

"Ah, ah, ah. We've got to wait for Darien to get down here before we eat. Maybe until then, you guys can wake yourselves up."

The hungry couple groaned as they sat at the table. Serena passed them their coffee. Thomas took a quick sip of his and yelled out loud. "Darien! Get your butt down here now!"

"Now Thomas. You should be patient and wait, just like I did when you and Sabrina were fast asleep."

Darien walked into the room. "Sorry I'm late!"

"Oh don't worry! These two were simply just too early!" Serena called out. Darien nodded his head and sat down at the table.

"Aren't you going to eat Serena?" Sabrina asked as she stared into her coffee.

"Yes, but I've got to serve the breakfast, don't I?" She placed a container of maple syrup, a bowl of strawberries, and a bowl of blueberry sauce on the table.

"Yo! Where are those waffles?!" Thomas demanded.

"Patience Thomas. I've got them right here." She held out her hand that had the plate of waffles on it. She quickly placed it on the table and removed her hand before Thomas jumped to get his share of waffles.

Everyone was eating, save for Serena.

"Mmmm! These are so good!" Thomas said with a full mouth.

"Yeah Serena! Total deliciousness!" Sabrina commented.

Darien's eyebrows lifted. "You made these Serena?" She nodded. "Wow. I didn't know you knew how to cook."

"Know how to cook? She was the best cook out of the three of us in the band!" Sabrina mentioned.

"I'm not the best."

"Serena, you're being modest!" Sabrina countered.

"Anyway, yes, I did make these."

"I'm impressed," Darien responded.

"There's a lot more to this meatball head then what met the eye," she said mysteriously, earning her a weird look from Thomas.

'Meatball head?' He mouthed to Darien.

Darien waved his hand. 'Long story,' he mouthed back.

"Well, you two seem to be getting along decently now. You're actually having full and complete sentence conversations!" Sabrina said. She clapped dramatically. "Great job!"

"Ha ha ha! Funny Sabrina! But yes. Darien and I have put our past behind us and are starting over."

"Good to hear!" Sabrina placed another forkful of waffles in her mouth.

Serena smiled as she sat down to eat. She took one waffle in her plate, some blueberry sauce, and began eating.

"Is that all your eating Serena?" Sabrina asked her as she watched her friend take a bite.

Serena swallowed before answering with a nod. "Yeah. I'm not that hungry."

"You're not eating a substantial breakfast! Remember that breakfast…"

"Is the most important meal of the day." Serena finished Sabrina's sentence, rolling her eyes. "I know, I know, but I'm just not hungry."

"Remind me to use _that_ excuse next time you force me to consume a large breakfast, Dr. Sterling!"

Serena shook her head, smiling nonetheless.

"_Doctor_?" Thomas questioned.

"Thomas, you've got to be kidding me! Don't you know Serena's going to be a doctor?!"

"You want to be a _doctor_?!" Darien asked incredulously. The Serena he knew just wanted to get married.

Serena turned a little red. "Um…yeah." Serena cleared her throat. "So…did you still want to be a doctor Darien?"

"Nope. He realized his calling is law."

"Thomas!" Darien exclaimed.

"What?" Thomas shrugged.

It was Darien's turn to shake his head. "Anyway, as I was about to say, I have decided that maybe medicine isn't my true calling, but I found that going into law, I'll be able to still help people, just in a different way."

"Cool!" Serena smiled. "So, you're going to be a lawyer!" He nodded his head.

"Good! Then if Thomas gets into any legal trouble with his business endeavors, then we'll know who to call!" Sabrina joked.

"Sabrina! That is _not_ a joking matter!" Serena scolded.

"Sorry, _Mom_."

Serena rolled her eyes and sighed. "Well, I wish you the best of luck Darien, and I certainly do hope that you don't have to help Thomas deal with legal problems."

"Thanks," Darien answered.

"So what time did you get up, Ms. Smarty-Pants?" Thomas asked, thinking she had gotten up only a few hours ago.

"I got up at six."

"Six?!" Sabrina looked to the clock. "You've been up for _four hours_ already?!" Serena nodded. "But…what did you do?"

"Well, I got up, took a shower, walked near your rooms to see if you guys were awake, which you weren't. So I decided that I would create that video busting all of the rumors about my performing at the video awards and that I'm apparently getting back together with Joe."

"You posted it online? I want to see it!"

"It doesn't say much Sabrina. All I really said was that despite all these rumors going around, I am a) not going to be at the video awards, let alone performing at it, and b) I'm _not_ getting back together with Joe. I told our fans how I'm not performing anymore and emphasized the fact, yet again, that I am pursuing other endeavors."

"Cool! I'll watch it later today and link to it on Twitter!" Sabrina said excitedly. "That'll show that creep Joe for spreading unnecessary rumors about you!"

"You seem pretty pitted on the poor guy," Thomas pointed out.

"Thomas! He _cheated_ on your sister, who happened to be his _fiancée_ at the time when he committed the crime! My poor girl! She was devastated!" Sabrina wiped fake teardrops from her eyes.

"Who did he cheat on you with again?" Thomas asked.

"Thomas! Why would you be so insensitive as to ask her that?!" Sabrina reprimanded him.

"It's alright Sabrina! Like I told you, I'm_ way_ over it. But to answer your question Thomas, it was with an actress named Ashley."

"Ashley?" Serena nodded. "Oh! That pretty girl who's in that new action movie! She's aweso…ow!" Thomas stared at Sabrina. "Why did you step on my foot?!"

"Because you're being inconsiderate!"

"Come on Sabrina! He's right though! She is pretty awesome, except for the fact that she was with Joe. Don't get so worked up about it! I'm not!"

"Sorry Serena, but I'm not as mature as you are! Joe is _so_ lucky to have had such a sweet girlfriend like you Serena. Now, if _I_ was his girlfriend, and he cheated on me just as he did to you, oh boy! He would be having some _serious_ issues!"

"Okay. Moving on from that nice subject, what are you planning on doing today?" Serena asked as she began to clean up the dirty dishes. Everyone had finished eating and was now just sitting around the table.

"Well. I was actually going to take my lovely girlfriend on a date today!"

"Really Thomas?! You were?"

"Yes I was!" He turned to Serena and Darien. "Do you guys have any plans?"

"Plans?!" They both asked at the same time, clearly shocked.

"Yeah. Did you two have something you wanted to do?"

"Um…" Serena didn't know how to answer that question.

"I didn't really have any plans in mind…Thomas." Darien was somehow able to force an answer out, despite his shock.

"Well, here's an idea! How about you guys catch up with each other? Talk, hang out, you know, do things friends do!" Sabrina suggested.

"Uh…" Darien began.

"Sure," Serena ended.

"Super! I'm just going to go upstairs and get ready for our date Thomas!" Sabrina brushed her lips against his cheek as she got up and headed up the stairs.

"I guess I've gotta get ready too!"

Serena and Darien were left in the kitchen. "Catching up doesn't seem like a bad idea really."

Serena looked at Darien and nodded her head in agreement. "Yeah. Yeah, you're right."

'What could go wrong with catching up?'

**So here's another chapter. It's still slow, I know, and I'm sorry! I just don't want to speed things up too much! However, I do think the story's going to get moving more after chapter six is done. It's towards the end of this first part/installment that the action really begins. But please do continue to read, review, follow, favorite, etc. Thanks!****  
**


	6. Chapter 6: Catching Up

_**Disclaimer: Though this would be a dream come true, I DO NOT OWN SAILOR MOON!**_

Chapter 6: Catching Up

_"Well, here's an idea! How about you guys catch up with each other? Talk, hang out, you know, do things friends do!" Sabrina suggested._

_"Uh…" Darien began._

_"Sure," Serena ended._

_"Super! I'm just going to go upstairs and get ready for our date Thomas!" Sabrina brushed her lips against his cheek as she got up and headed up the stairs._

_"I guess I've gotta get ready too!"_

_Serena and Darien were left in the kitchen. "Catching up doesn't seem like a bad idea really."_

_Serena looked at Darien and nodded her head in agreement. "Yeah. Yeah, you're right."_

_'What could go wrong with catching up?'_

* * *

'Of course nothing could go wrong with catching up, especially if you don't even _speak_ to each other!' Serena's mind thought. 'What a dumb thought! As if nothing could go wrong with catching up!'

Serena and Darien were standing outside in the backyard, not speaking a word.

Serena had her arms crossed and wracked her brain for something to say.

"So…" She started but faded off.

After a few moments of silence, Darien let out a small laugh. "It's funny." Serena turned to look at him. "I thought this whole catching up thing would be easy. Turns out it isn't as simple as it seems."

Serena smiled. "Yeah, I thought the same thing too."

"I guess it's just a matter of where to start off."

"Right." Serena thought for a moment. "Maybe I could just start off by…telling you what life's been like for the past five years? If you don't mind that is."

"No, no. I'd like to hear that." He sat down on the bench on the patio that was just outside the house. "I'm all ears."

Serena smiled as she saw down on the bench opposite of him, and she began recounting her story.

* * *

"And we played our last concert together right on the stage where we got our lucky break," Serena concluded.

Darien nodded. "Wow. That's an intense five years you had there! Music, albums, performing, acting, movies, awards. You've done it all!"

"Yup! I even got myself in my first and only controversy to date."

"Controversy? I thought you were the one popstar who everyone knows has a squeaky clean record."

"Oh. Well, I guess maybe _I'm_ the only one who considers the thing a 'controversy,' the thing being my relationship with Joe."

"Oh." Serena nodded, looking away. "Tell me about him." She looked back to Darien.

"About…about Joe?" He nodded his head. She sighed. "Joe. Where do I even start?"

"Start when you guys first met."

"Okay." Serena wiped her palms on her jeans, noticing how they were a little sweaty. This whole her telling her story to Darien was a little more nerve-wracking than she had anticipated. "Well, one of the awards the girls and I got was to meet _and _tour with the Lucas Brothers. You know? The band Joe is in? So anyway, the girls and I, we were at the recording studio to meet the Lucas Brothers, and we did meet them. I met Michael and Justin, the oldest and youngest members respectively. Then, I met Joe." She paused a moment, then continued on. "He was nice. A sweet guy. Insanely funny too. Something about him just made me automatically like him. Not 'like him' like him, but just…I don't know. He seemed to be a good person. So, the six of us went on tour, the girls and I being the opening act for them. We all hung out a lot with each other on tour, especially me and Joe. We talked constantly and did a lot together. Finally, he got the courage to ask me out on a date about a month after we first met. So we had a nice simple first date, which led to more little dates. Finally, after a month of dating, he officially asked me to be his girlfriend, and… I said yes." Darien looked at Serena as she hesitated. She seemed to be a little upset about it, but she continued on.

"We dated for a long time after that. It was hard when the girls and I did our own tour without the boys, but we were somehow able to maintain a temporary long distance relationship. Then of course, all six of us were on the TV show, 'The Hollywood High Life,' where my character and Joe's ended up becoming a couple. Oh man. _That_ was when the paparazzi really started pounding us as to whether or not we were dating. We both decided that we should keep our relationship a secret, so we never did admit it at first, despite everyone asking us."

"Finally, after five years of dating, Joe proposed to me at the beach…it wasn't anything too crazy, which I was surprised, since I thought he was one of those guys who would go all out for that. Anyway, I accepted. We soon after told the whole world of our relationship and how we were going to get married." She stopped once more. "We hadn't even started planning for the wedding. We actually got into a little fight a week after we announced our engagement. We didn't talk to each other for a week. I finally decided to leave an apology message on his phone, and I decided to visit his apartment he has in Los Angeles. So I go in there, and…well…let's just say I saw him in there, cheating on me. I immediately called him out on it. I still remember him trying to get me to think it was some misunderstanding. I didn't bother to listen. I took off the ring he gave me and threw it at him. A few days later, I confronted him again, asking him how long he was in a relationship with Ashley. I was shocked at what he told me."

Darien watched Serena closely as she ceased speaking. She had her head turned away to the right as she looked out to the backyard. Her jet black hair flowed to her waist and concealed the side of her face. 'Maybe she's done.'

"It was for a year." Darien's eyes widened. "He was…cheating on me…for a year." She shook her head and tilted her head down. "And I was a fool not to see it. I could've spotted it back then, a year before I got engaged to him, but…I was too blind in my apparent love for him that I didn't notice the signs. His canceling dates, taking phone calls at random times, saying that they were from his agent, the excuses. I should've known better than to ignore those things. But I did, and I was…well…I was devastated. Maybe even heartbroken. Maybe." She went silent. "But the funny thing was…I got over him. For the first couple of weeks, I thought I would never be the same, especially since Ashley leaked it to the paparazzi that Joe was cheating on me with her. Of course, that really boosted her career. No sarcasm intended. Sabrina and Hannah were worried about me when they saw that I was doing better just two weeks after the whole scandal. Looking back, I wonder why that is, and sometimes, I wonder if I really did love him as much as I thought I did." She then backtracked. "I mean, I _did_ love him, don't get me wrong, but…I don't know. Maybe it wasn't the kind of love where you end up getting married. It's complicated. But yeah. He tried once to get me to forgive and forget, but I told him, 'You broke my trust. I can never completely forgive you for that,' especially enough to get back together with him. Then I went on TV and told everyone openly that I _was_ upset about the whole issue. He got mad at me for that, and he thought I was doing it to get the sympathy of the people, but I wasn't. I mean, I could've done crazier stuff if I wanted people's sympathy." Serena sighed quietly then smiled a little. "So, that's my story, in a nutshell more or less."

Darien laughed a little. "Sounds…like a lot of things."

Serena nodded. "Oh yeah. It sure was. But enough about me!" She immediately seemed to have perked up. "Tell me what's been going on with you! Then we'll be officially all caught up!"

Darien thought for a moment, then began telling Serena about how he finished high school at the top of his class, for which Serena responded, "Of course! I wouldn't have expected anything different!" He then told her how while in college, he had interned at a law office to make some extra money and soon developed an affinity for law, recounting how he spent his breaks reading some of the law books at the office. "I finally told the office that I was aspiring to be a lawyer, not a doctor."

"What made you change your profession choice, if you don't mind my asking?"

He shook his head. "It's fine. Well, first of all, I thought about how I really liked science, but then I realized that I liked so many other subjects besides science, especially political science. Second, I was thinking about it, and if I become a lawyer, I could take on cases for people who don't have enough money, but whose cases are worth fighting for, you know what I mean?" Serena nodded and from the look in her eyes, he could tell she was very interested. "I don't need to really worry about making money from my career."

"Right, since you've got the inheritance from your parents," Serena added.

Darien nodded and continued. "So then I don't have to be concerned with taking on the cases of big rich people to make money. Finally, and most important of all," he began, his tone initially sarcastic. "I'm scared to death of needles, and well…that doesn't exactly work too well with wanting to become a doctor." Serena giggled, and he smiled. "But yeah. I feel a stronger pull or attraction, if you will, towards law. I really think it _is_ my true calling."

"Wow Darien. That's admirable. I'm glad you're going to do something you're obviously passionate about. I feel the same way, except that I want to go into medicine. My dream is to be an emergency room physician!"

"Big dream! That's fantastic!"

"Yeah, I know, but I hope it works out. I mean, given my whole situation of being a popstar for the past five years. That's why I stopped performing, you know? So that I could work on fulfilling my dream."

"Don't worry. I know it'll come true."

"You think so?" She asked hopefully.

"I know for sure." She smiled a broad smile, and he couldn't help but return it.

"Thanks Darien. That…that means a lot."

He nodded. He then thought of something. Until now, he had yet to see her genuinely smile. Before, it was always a simple, small smile. Now, she looked sincerely content. It made him feel good inside, but why, he wasn't quite sure.

**Two chapters in one day! I literally just finished writing this chapter! It's usually pretty hard for me to get a whole chapter done, but I'm working hard! Please read, review, follow, favorite, etc. THANKS!**


	7. Chapter 7: The Real Serena

_**Disclaimer: Though this would be a dream come true, I DO NOT OWN SAILOR MOON!**_

Chapter 7: The _Real_ Serena

"Do you know what time those two are going to come back from their date?" Serena asked Darien. After their session of "catching up," they both sat quietly outside on the patio benches.

"No idea, although I think Thomas mentioned that they'd eat lunch before they got back and that we shouldn't wait for them to get back in order to eat."

"Right." She looked at her watch, which read 1:00. "Wow! Time sure did fly!" They had come outside at about 11:15. "Are you hungry?"

"Not really. You?"

"Not even close." She looked around them. "What should we do now?"

"Well, if you'd like, I could give you a grand tour of the backyard."

Serena looked out to the backyard. "You mean, there's more to it than what meets the eye?"

"Oh yeah. A _lot_ more." He got up. "Come on. We can burn an hour easily walking around."

"Sounds fun to me." Serena followed Darien deeper into the backyard.

* * *

Serena was flabbergasted with the sites she saw on her tour. There was a huge water pavilion in the middle of the huge pool in the middle of the yard. To get there, one had to hop onto big stepping stones carefully. Beyond the pavilion were more stepping stones which led to another whole part of the backyard: the garden. There were so many different plants and flowers growing there, and right in the middle was an enormous fountain.

"Well, I'm going to steer clear from that," Serena commented.

"Why?" Darien asked curiously.

"Because…unfortunately, despite the many differences, when it comes to walking and overall movement, well…I'm still a meatball head."

Darien had to laugh out loud at that. "Right. Then it's _definitely_ a good idea for you to stay away from the fountain! You'd of course have a klutz attack right then and end up falling in!" He teased.

"Hey! I didn't _almost_ fall into the pool getting here, did I? Unlike someone I know!" She countered.

"That was just a one-time occurrence. Probably because I'm with you!"

"Why you!" She shook her head, but was still smiling nonetheless.

It was weird for the two of them. It almost felt like old times, way back when they would both tease each other to death. It felt…good.

They reached a huge green wall of vines. "Finally! The end! I almost started thinking that this was an endless backyard!" Serena exclaimed. She then looked around them. "Roses!" She walked to one of the rose bushes. "I wonder why they're all the way back here?" She mused as she observed the flowers.

"Don't know. Maybe they're supposed to be hidden from plain view."

"Hm…I wonder why that is?" She leaned down to smell one of them. "Mmm…well, whatever the reason, the long walk to get to here is definitely worth it! Did you smell these roses? They're just wonderful!"

Darien went to smell them himself. "You're right, they are!"

"Is there some kind of sprinkler system here? I can't imagine a single person coming around watering all these plants every day!"

"From what Thomas told me, there are sprinklers. They're preset to start up at a certain time each day. I don't know when exactly though."

"You mind if we sit for a while? I'm kind of poofed out after all that walking to get here!" Serena plopped down on a bench near one of the rose bushes.

"Sure. That sounds like a good idea." Darien sat down another bench near another rose bush so that just as before, they were sitting opposite each other.

Serena tilted her head back and looked up at the blue sky. "It's such a wonderful day! I really hope Sabrina and Thomas are outside for their date; otherwise, they'd be wasting this gorgeous weather!"

Darien looked up too and saw that she was right. He shifted his head to look across from him, at the girl sitting in front of him. Serena still had her face to the sky. The light of the sun illuminated her pale skin. He quickly turned away as she lowered her head, not wanting her to get the wrong idea at seeing him stare at her so intently. He watched as she got up and walked toward the arbor they had walked through to get to this rose garden and the end of the huge yard. It had vines wrapped all around it, and towards the top were pink roses, which was a little unusual given that the rose garden only had red roses.

Darien took advantage of the situation to really look at Serena. The first thing he noticed, which he technically noticed prior to reaching the garden, was that she was tall. She was about three inches shorter than him, which meant that she had undergone a major growth spurt since he last saw her. She was skinny, although she always had a thin figure. What threw him off was her hair. Gone were her meatballs and blonde hair. Now, she had shiny, jet black hair which had a light brownish-red tint to it, he noticed now that the sun was hitting it directly. He could see a little bit of her pink highlight. She had one pink strip of hair on each side of her face. He remembered Sabrina saying that it was Serena's signature popstar look.

He then observed what she was doing near the arbor. He watched closely as her slender fingers brushed the soft pink petals of the roses. She pulled one toward her face and inhaled its scent deeply. He heard her exhale, and she slowly turned to face him.

"I feel so…at peace here. Don't you?" She asked him.

"Yeah, I do."

Serena stretched her arms up above her head. "I wonder what time it is." Serena checked her watch. "2:59. Time is speeding by!" She stood in her place quietly.

However, a whirring sound was heard.

"Do you…hear that sound?"

"Yes. I wonder what it is?" Darien looked around, confused. He got up and walked towards Serena, trying to find the source of the noise. All of a sudden, something was spraying them.

"Oh!" Serena exclaimed. "What is it?"

"I think I know what it is!"

Darien and Serena looked at each other, face to face. "The sprinklers!"

They both darted through the rose arbor and through the large backyard, all the way up to the stepping stones to the pavilion. They swiftly jumped their way to the pavilion. Darien was faster than Serena and reached the patio. Serena was carefully jumping from each of the stepping stones. She reached the last one and leaped into the air. She landed on the ground, but nearly tripped backwards into the water. She extended her arms to her sides, attempting to gain balance. Finally, she was completely stationary, and she sighed with relief. She then jogged towards Darien.

"_That_ was close."

"You alright Serena?"

"I'm fine thanks." She regarded her wet clothes. "Well, it looks like we're going to have to change, aren't we?"

"Yeah, you're right," Darien agreed, looking down at his own soaked clothes.

"Well, at least we know what time the sprinklers go off." Serena wrung her clothes, water splashing onto the grass.

Darien chuckled. "Yeah. It's good to keep in mind for future reference."

"Let's head inside and change before Sabrina and Thomas get back; otherwise, they'll be on our case!"

The two of them entered the house and went to their respective rooms to get dry clothes.

* * *

Serena looked out the window of her bedroom to the backyard. She was wearing a fresh set of clothes but was letting her hair air dry, as it wasn't too wet. She leaned her head against the glass. 'That was quite a fun time out in the garden.' Her next thought went to Darien. 'He hasn't changed a single bit, save for his career change. He still has the potential to be a jerk.' She laughed at that thought. 'But he's still being super sweet to me. He doesn't have to.' She sighed, then turned to the clock. It read 3:30. Her head tilted to the left. "Where are Sabrina and Thomas?" She asked the empty room.

* * *

Darien walked out of his bathroom, his clothes and hair all dry. He sat down on his bed and pondered the day.

'She's so…different. So much more…reserved and quiet. But still a klutz.' He chuckled. 'It's good to know she hasn't changed completely. That meatball head is still in her.' He sighed loudly.

"I have to get to know the new Serena. No…the _real_ Serena."

**Yet another chapter, completed! I hope, for those of you reading and following the story, are liking it! I'm not so sure what the reception is as there are unfortunately no reviews for the last couple of chapters. Please do review, follow, favorite, etc. Just let me know how it's going and if you have any questions about the story! Thanks!**


	8. Chapter 8: Family, Flashback

_**Disclaimer: Though this would be a dream come true, I DO NOT OWN SAILOR MOON!**_

Chapter 8: Family, Flashback

Serena went out of her room and downstairs to the living room, which was separate from the main entrance hall. She looked around the room. Pretty beige couches were set up in a U-shape around a green oriental rug. She stood back from the area, an odd aura surrounding her.

* * *

Blissful, innocent laughter filled the air. A baby was cooing at a distance. Immediately, darkness filled the area. Angry yelling destroyed the calm atmosphere. A green light flashed, followed by lifeless screams. Maniacal laughter replaced all other noises, only to be cut short by a bright white light.

Serena gasped and leaned against the wall nearby. She took deep breaths, trying to recover from what she sort of saw. 'What was that?!' She wondered as pressed her back against the wall. She put her hand on her forehand and found it all sweaty. She then looked back to the living room area.

Just then, she heard footsteps approaching. A mop of black hair popped into the room. "Serena? Is that you?"

"Yeah, it's me."

Darien noticed how she looked a little too pale and was having a hard time catching her breath. "Are you okay?"

"Um…yeah. Yeah, I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" Darien couldn't help but doubt that.

"Yeah." She smiled up at him. "Maybe I'm catching a cold or something." She waved her hand. "Anyway, we should call Sabrina and Thomas and make sure that they're alright. I'm starting to get a little worried now."

"Right," Darien said, sounding a slight bit unconvinced; however, he realized, as Serena walked out of the room, that she wasn't going to talk about whatever it was that was _really_ bothering her.

Luna moved out of the shadows once the two humans left. "Hm…I wonder what happened to Serena."

* * *

Thomas and Sabrina had reached the house when Darien and Serena left the living room. They relayed their wonderful date to their two friends. That night, Thomas ordered Chinese food, and the four of them sat in the movie theater of the house (something Serena still couldn't believe was in the house) watching a film.

Finally, it was about 11:30 at night, and everyone had gone to sleep. Everyone, except Serena.

Serena was sitting near the window of her room, looking out to the night sky. Luna jumped onto her lap, and Serena's hands went to pet the cat.

"What are you thinking about Serena?" Luna questioned as she curled up close to Serena.

"Oh? Nothing really Luna. Just enjoying this beautiful night." She sighed gently. "Luna. Where's Artemis? Is he with you?"

"Oh, Artemis? He's back…you know."

"I know where you mean," Serena responded, knowing Luna was trying to say that he was where her parents and the sailor scouts were.

"He goes there sometimes just to see how everyone's doing. He wanted me to say hi to you."

"Do you miss being there?"

Luna was thrown off guard by the sudden, and rather personal, question. "Well…at first, I did, but now I don't." Luna thought for a moment. "I like being here. It's a lot calmer, quieter, and peaceful. Plus, now I get to be with you again."

Serena smiled and looked down at Luna. "Oh Luna." She turned her gaze back to the starry night. "New Moon."

"Huh?"

"It's a new moon now." Luna nodded, looking out at the moonless sky. "How _did _you end up here? With Thomas?"

"Well, to make a long story relatively short, Thomas and Darien, they met up. You know that whole story, right?" Serena nodded. Sabrina had told her about that story **(AN: This story has yet to have been mentioned in the prequel. I will try to get Darien and Thomas's profiles up there soon, but for now, they met and became friends. Thanks!)**. "Well, Artemis and I soon, well, we broke off from the scouts."

"You what?!" Serena exclaimed. "Why?"

"They…they didn't want to be scouts anymore. They were more concerned with partying and tracking down boys, all that other stuff. They didn't want to be scouts anymore. They even handed me back their transformation sticks, saying they no longer wanted to be bound to their past lives."

"Are they…are they all doing okay? Are they all safe?" Serena asked. Her gaze was still out the window.

Luna sighed. The girls didn't want to know anything about Serena. She remembered when she first informed them that Serena was missing and had left no note. The only thing they said was, "Good Riddance."

"They're all doing well."

Serena nodded. "That's good to hear."

Luna nodded too. "Back to the story. Artemis and I got fed up, so we went to the only other person who seemed to want to have something to do with us."

"Who?"

"Darien."

"Darien?" Serena was clearly surprised. She had finally turned to stare at Luna.

"Yes. He wasn't hostile like the girls were. He was happy to let us live with him."

"What…what about…mom…and dad…and Sammy?"

"They…" Luna hesitated.

"What Luna? You can tell me."

"They kicked me out."

"Oh! Luna. I'm so sorry! I wish you didn't have to suffer because of me!" Serena sounded clearly distressed.

"It's fine Serena. It's truly not your fault. They just told me to get out…because…"

"Because they don't want anything to remind them of me," Serena finished. "I know. Sorry…continue."

"So once Darien and Thomas met, Thomas brought Darien here. Darien liked it here. At that point, he had finished high school, and he wanted to leave. Go somewhere else. So Thomas invited him to stay over here. Permanently. Darien was pretty much forced to stay when Thomas saw his possible interest. Darien asked if he could bring Artemis and me, and Thomas agreed. Of course, Darien felt obligated to explain his whole past life to Thomas, and he did, and we finally began speaking to Thomas."

"Did Thomas freak out?"

"No, luckily he didn't. He accepted us, just as he had accepted Darien." Luna laughed a little. "He's the only other person I saw Darien really open up to, besides you."

"I'm glad he's found a friend like Thomas."

"They could be brothers almost. Almost. But yeah. That's how Artemis and I came to be here. As for Sabrina, she knew about your story."

"Yeah. I felt I owed it to her to tell her. She's practically the sister I never had."

Luna smiled. "Yes. So she wasn't completely shocked when she found out about me and Artemis." Luna stretched her body out. "That's the story."

"Cool." Serena paused for a moment. "It's so nice that we can all be together. Like…like a family."

"Yeah. You're right." Luna gazed up at Serena, only to find that Serena was focusing on the sky once more. "A family," Luna whispered.

**Hm...like Luna, I wonder what was going on with Serena? Just kidding! _I _know what's going on; however, unfortunately, I can't give that away now! But soon, all will be revealed! Maybe you guys can guess?! Let me know in the review section what you think! So please do review, follow, favorite, etc. Thanks!**


	9. Chapter 9: A couple

_**AN: Please, pretty, pretty please, I'm practically begging, please do review! I have no idea whether people are actually enjoying this story, or if it's just plain awful. I really do appreciate feedback, positive or negative. Thanks! I hope you like this chapter. Things should be getting better soon! **_

___**Disclaimer: Though this would be a dream come true, I DO NOT OWN SAILOR MOON!**_

Chapter 9: A couple

**Fast forwarding a month! So four weeks have gone by. Thomas and Sabrina have been going on a whole bunch of dates, making up for lost time. Serena has been job hunting, despising the fact that she doesn't have much to do at the house. She finally decides to enroll in a nursing class at a local college to get her nursing license. Darien has also been job hunting and finds a job at a local law firm; however, he has been fitting time in for him and Serena to hang out together and continue their catching up.**

* * *

Darien pulled up into the one of the four car garages of the house. He got out of his red Maserati and locked it. He looked to the next car and smiled. 'Serena's home,' he thought, as he looked at her emerald green Jeep. The vehicle was pretty old, something that Thomas loved to constantly point out to Serena, who just ignored him. The jeep was like her baby. That was a fact he learned three weeks ago, when it was delivered to their doorstep. Literally.

* * *

_The four adults were sitting around the table eating lunch, which Serena happened to have made.  
_

_"Serena, this pasta salad is so good!" Sabrina commented as she took her third helping of the said-food. _

"_Yeah, she's right Serena. This is super good!" Darien added._

"_Could be better though," Thomas mumbled. _

"_Come on Thomas! You're just jealous to admit it!" _

"_No I'm not!"_

"_Oh yeah? Then why did you take four times?!" Thomas turned a little red. "That's right! I was watching you!" _

"_Well Thomas. I'm glad you liked," Serena said, earning a little grunt from Thomas. _

_It was a little quiet for a few minutes, and Serena spoke up. "Hey Thomas. I …well I had a question."_

"_Shoot."_

"_Okay. Um…I was just wondering…if you maybe had found, or even have, a picture of Mom and Dad."_

_Darien and Sabrina stared at Thomas. They hoped he wouldn't react too badly. _

"_No."_

"_Oh. Did you…did you check their bedroom?"_

"_No."_

"_Then, maybe…don't you think maybe we should check it out, and see what's in there? Maybe we could find pictures of them."_

_Thomas put his fork down and glared at Serena. "No. We are _not_ going to open that door and go into their room. We don't need a picture of them. We've got our memories don't we? So just drop it, okay?" _

"_You're right. Sorry if I upset you."_

_Thomas took a deep breath. "It's…it's fine." _

_Awkward silence filled the air, and Sabrina decided to be the one to break it._

"_Soooo…."_

_The doorbell was heard. "I'll go check that," Thomas said, abruptly getting up from the table and going to the main entrance hall to get the door. He soon came back. "Serena. They're here for you."_

"_Who is?"_

_Thomas shrugged. "Don't really know. They just asked me if you were here."  
_

_Serena shrugged. "Okay. I guess I'll go see what it is."_

_She left the room. Thomas turned to Sabrina and Darien. "Come on. Let's go see for ourselves!"_

_The three of them left the table and went to the door where Serena was talking to a middle-aged man._

"_Yes. I'm Serena Sterling."_

"_We have a delivery for you."_

"_A delivery?" Serena was perplexed.  
_

"_Yes. It's a vehicle. Emerald green color. A.."_

"_Jeep?! __My Jeep?!" Serena asked excitedly._

_"Yes!" The man smiled. "We're here to unload it for you."_

"_Oh thank you very much!" Serena turned around as the man walked towards the huge truck that pulled into the compound. "You guys! My Jeep! It's finally here!" _

_After about a half hour, the Jeep was finally in the driveway in front of the house. The man came up to Serena. "Well Miss Sterling. Here are the keys! I hope you have a wonderful day!"_

"_Thank you! You too! Bye!" The truck pulled out and Serena ran towards her, planting a big kiss on it._

"_Oh baby! I missed you so much! I'm so glad you're here safe and sound!" Serena spoke lovingly to the vehicle. _

"_Wow! She loves that Jeep!" Thomas began. _

"_Yup! It's her baby!"_

"_I've never seen her _this_ ecstatic ever since she got here," Darien commented. He watched as she walked around the vehicle, a huge smile on her face. Her brown eyes were sparkling with excitement and joy. _

_She finally turned back to the three adults watching her. "So," she started, holding up her car keys. "Who wants to get the first ride?" _

_None of them responded, but they then heard a voice. "I'd love to!" _

_The three of them looked down and to the right to see Luna. _

"_Okay Luna. Anyone else? Going once…twice…sold! To my beloved Luna! Come on Luna!" _

_Thomas, Sabrina, and Darien watched in amazement as Serena gathered Luna in her arms and climbed into the Jeep. She placed Luna onto the passenger seat. Fastening her own seatbelt, Serena started the engine. She rolled down her window. "We'll see you guys in a bit!" She called out as she began pulling out of the compound of the house. She waved her hand at them as she went through the gate.  
_

_"That girl," Sabrina said, shaking her head.  
_

_"She's something," Thomas added, and he and Sabrina walked back into the house, leaving Darien to look at the gates where Serena's jeep just went through. _

"_She really is something," he said to himself, a smile on his face._

* * *

Darien could still see how excited Serena was. That moment had proven to him that despite how different she turned out to truly be, inside, Serena still had the capability to be the meatball headed girl he had known her to be, and for that, he was glad to know that she wasn't completely different. Nevertheless, he had to admit that he was beginning to really like this new, or rather, _real_ Serena. She was smart, composed, mature, sophisticated, save for her klutz attacks. But best of all, she still possessed that one quality he loved best out of everything else: her big heart.

He could recall the time when she had announced she had officially signed up for a nursing class. Thomas had asked why she was planning to work when she had a whole bunch of money which she made from her popstar life. Her response was, "_Thomas. I don't care about how much money I have! I just can't stand sitting around here with nothing to do, wasting my time! If I get my nursing license once I finish this class, then I can start working, if I can get a job that is. Not only is it the first step to becoming a doctor, but I can help take care of people. It aggravates me that I can't become a doctor now, but at least in becoming a nurse, I can do something, make a difference and help people get healthy and stay healthy. I would even work for free if they would let me! I just want to help people! That's all!"_

* * *

Darien walked into the house and found Serena in the kitchen, her head buried in one of her nursing textbooks.

"Hello there future Nurse!"

"Oh!" Serena gasped, but then relaxed when she looked up. "Hey Darien! How was work?" She shut her textbook and motioned for him to sit down.

"Pretty good. How was class?"

"Awesome! It's so wonderful to be back in a classroom doing some serious learning!"

"Where are Sabrina and Thomas? No wait. Let me take a wild guess, although I'm sure I'll be wrong. They're…on a date?"

"Ding, ding, ding! You got it!" Serena laughed.

"Where else would they be?"

"I know right? Those two…" Serena smiled. She then placed her hands on the table. "How about I make you some coffee? You've had a long week!"

"That would be nice, thanks! Seriously though, TGIF!" Darien stretched his arms and sighed.

Serena turned on the coffee machine and sat back down at her textbook and opened it. Darien was looking through the newspaper. They heard the front door open and close.

"Oooo! I smell coffee!" Thomas exclaimed. Serena had set a cup of coffee on the counter as Thomas and Sabrina entered the kitchen. "Don't mind if I do."

He made a grab for it, only to have it pulled away by Serena. "I don't think so Thomas! If you want coffee, you're going to have to wait! I made this especially for Darien!"

"Oh, did you?" Sabrina asked, an eyebrow popping up. She had a mischievous smile on her face.

Serena didn't see Sabrina's face as she placed the coffee in front of Darien. "Yes I did. Poor guy's been working hard all week! He deserves it!"

"I've been working hard too! Taking Sabrina out on a date is _not_ easy work!"

"Hey!" Sabrina smacked Thomas's arm playful, but still cling tightly to it.

"Right, of course!" Serena answered, rolling her eyes. "Don't worry! I'll get some coffee for you guys too," she conceded.

"You better!" Thomas sat down at the table, and then let out a yell. "Ah! What is _that_ doing on the table?!" He pointed, his eyes wide with disgust.

"What?!" Serena ran to see what he was pointing at. She looked for an animal or bug or insect, but then she quickly realized that Thomas was referring to her textbook. "Oh? You mean, my textbook?" She lifted the textbook in one hand and brought it up close to Thomas.

"Yes, that thing! Get it away!"

"Aw come on Thomas! It doesn't bite!" Serena teased as she moved the textbook and placed it on the countertop.

"Maybe not you it won't! I realized after I graduated college that I _never_ wanted to see another textbook again!"

"Thomas, you're something." Serena shook her head, grinning a little.

"So Darien. Did you just get back here?" Sabrina asked as she took her seat next to Thomas.

"Hm? Oh yeah, just about ten minutes ago actually."

Sabrina nodded. "How about you Serena?" She saw the comics section of the paper that Darien had removed and pulled it towards her.

"I got back an hour ago," Serena responded, looking up at the clock which now read 3:00. "Class got out early after our professor said she wasn't feeling too well." Sabrina laughed. Serena was surprised. "Sabrina! It's not nice to laugh at someone who feels sick!"

"Huh? Oh…sorry Serena!" Sabrina was trying to catch her breath. Serena stared incredulously at Sabrina, who was recovering from her laugh attack. "I was laughing at this comic! Look Thomas!"

Serena rolled her eyes and shook her head hopelessly. Sighing, she walked back to the coffee machine and grabbed the coffee mugs to pour coffee for the two adults who were now guffawing at a comic. "Here's your coffee you two." She set the coffee cups down in front of them, grabbed her textbook, and headed towards the patio door. She turned back. "Hey Darien?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm going to sit outside and study, 'kay?"

"Sure." He looked over to Thomas and Sabrina and sighed. "Actually, could you wait up? I think I'll join you." He gathered his things, stood up, stared at the couple for one last moment, and walked with Serena out the door.

Serena shut the door behind them. "Those two. They really _do_ make a good couple together!" Serena mused as she sat at one side of the round patio table.

"You're right about that." The two of them laid out their things on the table and began doing their work.

After about ten minutes of silence, Darien looked up at Serena. "Hey. Did you hear about this medical case?"

Serena looked up, immediately interested. "No, I didn't. I wasn't able to read the paper this morning."

"Come on." He motioned for Serena to sit in the chair right next to him. He read the story aloud. Serena listened keenly. "Wow! That's awful! Do they have information about the trial?"

"Yeah. It says…" Darien read Serena the details of the trial. After discussing the issues of the trial, they ended up digressing to other topics. They had no idea where the time went.

* * *

Meanwhile, inside, Sabrina and Thomas had watched a marathon of one of their favorite comedy TV shows. They had easily burned an hour and a half in doing so.

Sabrina got up off the kitchen seat and shut the laptop closed. "I think I'm going to make us another cup of coffee." She walked to the kitchen and turned on the coffee machine. She turned around and leaned against the counter looking around.

Thomas was sitting at the dining room table. "Hey Thomas! Get in here. Quick!" Sabrina called out excitedly.

Thomas ran into the kitchen. "What? What is it?" He then went to stand next to Sabrina, who was now looking the glass doors that led to the patio.

"Look at them!" Sabrina pointed. Thomas looked to see Serena and Darien sitting next to each other, laughing.

"They're laughing. What's the big deal?" Thomas asked, his voice revealing his boredom.

"Thomas, _look_ at them! They're sitting so close to each other! And laughing."

"Just like we did before," Thomas pointed out.

"Yeah, but we're a _couple_."

"They aren't a couple, Sabrina."

"But they would make a nice couple, wouldn't they?" Sabrina stared at them.

Thomas stared at Sabrina. He didn't have X-ray vision, but he could see the gears in Sabrina's brain churning fast, a plan beginning to brew. "Sabrina," he began as he walked to get the coffee. "It seems you've forgotten an important fact."

Sabrina frowned. "What's that?" She questioned, her eyes never leaving the two adults outside.

"They were _once_ a couple, but it ended. Two times." He turned to look at her. "They're obviously not meant to be."

Sabrina sighed, pulling her eyes from them and turned to look at Thomas. "You do have a point," she conceded as she took hold of the coffee cup Thomas held out for her. She went to stand back at the window. She took a sip of the coffee, and whispered so Thomas couldn't hear. "But third time's usually a charm." She watched as Serena and Darien looked at each other, smiling.

**Hm...things are getting interesting, aren't they? No? Oh well. Trust me. They will soon! Please do review, favorite, follow, etc. Just please let me know that there are people who actually reading the fanfic! As I mentioned before, I super appreciate it! Thanks!**


	10. Chapter 10: Friend-zoned

_**Disclaimer: Though this would be a dream come true, I DO NOT OWN SAILOR MOON!**__** Or Titanic for that matter. I've never actually seen the movie, so please don't hate me, because one of our characters does not like it at all and expresses that opinion firmly. **_

Chapter 10: Friend-zoned

_"They were __once__ a couple, but it ended. Two times." He turned to look at her. "They're obviously not meant to be."_

_Sabrina sighed, pulling her eyes from them and turned to look at Thomas. "You do have a point," she conceded as she took hold of the coffee cup Thomas held out for her. She went to stand back at the window. She took a sip of the coffee, and whispered so Thomas couldn't hear. "But third time's usually a charm." She watched as Serena and Darien looked at each other, smiling._

* * *

That Friday night…

"Sabrina?! Do I have to go?!" Serena whined. She and Sabrina were at the front door.

"Of course you do! Come on Serena! It's going to be great!"

"Watching a movie that was adapted from an actual event that occurred in the past where so many people lost their lives but primarily focuses instead on the stupid infatuation two individuals from different levels of society have with each other and almost totally ignoring the true tragedy aspect of so many people losing their lives to glorify the tragedy of the two lovers being separated from each other…" She paused to take a breath. "…is _not_ something I find very interesting."

Sabrina just stared at her. "It's a love story! One of the century!"

"I just don't see what the big deal is!"

"Well, whether you like it or not, you're coming with me!"

"How about Thomas goes with you?"

"Guys night in and girls night out, remember?" Sabrina smiled, knowing Serena couldn't get out of that.

"Ugh!" Oh, Serena _did_ remember. Every Friday night, she and Sabrina would go out and do something fun, like watch a movie, while Darien and Thomas would stay at home and do something. "Next time, we should do guys night out and girls night in," Serena suggested, though Sabrina wasn't listening.

"Let's go!" Sabrina exclaimed, dragging Serena behind her.

* * *

"So ladies! How was the movie?" Thomas asked as Serena and Sabrina walked into the theater room. He and Darien had been watching a football game.

"It was soooo amazing! And romantic!" Sabrina sighed happily.

"How about you Serena?" Thomas asked. "Surely you loved it!"

Serena glared at him, hearing his playful tone. "I can't believe I had to sit through that sad excuse of a movie."

"Oh come on Serena! It wasn't that bad! I mean, you get to see Leonardo DiCaprio, and he's hot!"

"Ugh! Right! Because I totally wanted to see what transpired between those two! Gosh! And the movie's only PG-13! Should be Rated R! And he isn't that cute."

"Well. Sorry you can't appreciate their love, Serena!" Sabrina said.

"Love!" Serena couldn't help but scoff at that. "If you call their obsession with defying society by being together love, I wonder what you'd call real love!" Serena responded.

"Don't be so jealous Serena!"

"What are you talking about, Thomas?! Why would I be jealous of those two?"

"Because you were in a relationship just like theirs and unlike them, yours didn't work out!"

Sabrina and Darien were shocked. They looked at Serena, worried as to how she would react.

"Ha! In case you didn't realize, I am forever thankful for getting out of that sad excuse for a relationship. And for your information, their relationship didn't exactly 'work out;' Jack died!" And with that winning statement, she triumphantly strolled out of the room.

No one said anything at first, but Darien spoke up. "She's right you know."

Thomas glared at Darien. "Two words: shut up."

* * *

Sabrina opened the door and entered her best friend's bedroom without notice. Darien and Thomas had decided to call it a night. Luckily, Serena was on her bed, reading a book. She placed the book on her bedside table and sat at edge of her bed, waiting for Sabrina to start.

"Serena!" Sabrina called out in her sing-song voice. "You want to go clothes shopping with me tomorrow afternoon? It's about time that I update my wardrobe! I wore the same jacket two times in one week. Two times in one week, Serena! That is breaking one of the laws of Fashion!"

Serena rolled her eyes at her friend's antics. "Unfortunately, as much as I would _love_ to accompany you on a shopping trip Sabrina," Serena began sarcastically, earning a glare from Sabrina. "I have plans."

Sabrina's bad mood was short-lived as curiosity took over. "Plans? What plans?"

"Well…Darien was going to take me to an art gallery nearby. He says the art they have there is amazing!"

"Oh? That's…that's cool."

Serena was surprised. Sabrina would usually interrogate her and try to get all of the minute details out of her, but now, she was simply quiet. 'Huh. Maybe she's maturing.' "Anyway. I am sorry that I can't come with you."

Sabrina smiled when she saw that Serena did seem to genuinely feel bad. She waved her hand in the air dismissively. "Don't worry about me! I could probably convince Thomas to come with me." Sabrina's eyes lit up. "As a matter of fact, I had been thinking that it's about time for Thomas to update his wardrobe too. Oh! That's a great idea!" Sabrina hopped up in the air, and then gave a hug to Serena. "Thanks Serena! See ya!"

Serena stood, confused. "Um…you're welcome?" She then chuckled a little. "That Sabrina. Poor Thomas isn't gonna get out of this one for sure. Boy will he not be happy!" Serena shook her head then changed into her pajamas. She went to stand near her window. Luna was perched on the windowsill. She watched Serena's face. It seemed calm at first, but then she noticed a change. Serena's lips turned down to a frown, and her eyebrows were scrunched. Her eyes seemed to be somewhere else, deep in thought.

"Serena. Is everything okay?"

"Hm?" Luna's voice shook Serena out of her reverie. "Yes Luna. I'm fine." She petted Luna's head fondly and smiled down at her. "Just tired I guess."

Luna watched as Serena looked out the window once more, worry clearly etched on her face.

Serena took a shaky breath in. 'Something doesn't feel…right.' She looked to where the moon would be, had it not been a new moon. 'Maybe it's just because the moon isn't out tonight.' That answer was meant to satisfy her. Temporarily. However, she couldn't help the strange feeling she was experiencing. Something was going to change, and she feared that it wasn't going to be for the better.

* * *

The next day, Sabrina entered the large washroom downstairs that was off the main entrance hall. Serena had a nice outfit on. A dark blue jacket made of thin fabric with no buttons. It opened enough to show a ruffled white tank top on the inside. She had blue jeans on and sandals to complete the look.

"You look nice Serena."

"Why thank you Sabrina! I'm glad that I've dressed well enough to impress you." Serena was adjusting her hair, making sure it was not unkempt. "You look great too!" Serena commented on Sabrina's orange cardigan and white skinny jeans.

"So…you ready for your _date_?"

Serena's eyes widened, clearly astonished. 'And to think. Just when I thought Sabrina was maturing, she proves me wrong.' "Date? With Darien?" She looked at Sabrina's reflection in the mirror. "Sabrina! Darien and I are _not _going on a date. We're just friends going on a nice little outing."

"Aw, Serena! You friend-zoned him? How could you?" Sabrina was accusing Serena as though she were some criminal who committed some heinous crime!

Serena now turned to face Sabrina directly as she addressed her question. "Sabrina! Darien and I dated a long time ago, and it didn't work out then, remember? I mean, I'm lucky that we're even _friends_. Isn't that enough?" She looked back into the mirror and gazed at her reflection. "There was a possibility that we would never even _talk_ to each other again." She walked past Sabrina to the door. "As for you, I hope that _you_ are ready for your shopping date."

"I sure am!" Sabrina answered excitedly as she followed Serena, forgetting about what she was taunting Serena about for the time being.

Thomas and Darien were in the garage.

"Well Serena. I have to say, you _actually_ look somewhat nice."

"Ha, ha. Thanks." Serena expected Thomas to be rude. He had come to find out that Sabrina had originally planned to go shopping with Serena but got the bright idea to take him instead. Needless to say, he was not too happy with Serena at the moment.

"So, you guys aren't going to take Serena's jeep are you?" Thomas sneered. "Otherwise Darien, you'll be forever ridiculed."

"Excuse me Thomas, but we actually aren't going to take my jeep. I have to do some repairs on it."

"_You_ have to do some repairs?" Thomas questioned.

"Yes, _I _do." Serena turned to Darien. "You all ready for our little outing?"

"Sure am!"

"Wait! Thomas and I are going to pull out first, okay?"

Darien and Serena agreed, and watched as the two of them drove away.

"Time to head out," Darien said as he started up his car.

* * *

They were on the road for a while and Serena opened her mouth to speak. "You know, Thomas teased me and asked me if this was a date."

Serena looked to Darien, surprised that Thomas had said that. "Funny you should mention that, because it just so happens Sabrina asked me the same thing."

"She did?"

"Yeah, so I went and told her that we were just going on a friendly outing."

"Same here. I wish they didn't just assume things. I mean, just because a guy and a girl go somewhere and do something together doesn't mean that they're automatically dating."

"I know right? I guess those two just won't understand."

"Yeah, afraid you're right."

The two of them went on to talk about other things going on in their lives, trying to forget about what their respective friends teased them about, but not really succeeding.

* * *

"You know, I asked Darien about whether he and Serena were going on a date?"

"You did?! Because I did that to Serena!"

"How did she react?"

"Oh, the classic 'we're just friends' answer."

"Darien said that too." Thomas chuckled a little. "I mean, I guess we can't tease them about it, since it _is_ the right answer."

Sabrina turned away from Thomas to look out the window of the car, her smile fading a little. "Yeah," she said quietly. "The right answer."

**I know that things have kind of progressed rather quickly, so I hope that it hasn't confused anyone! I just felt that the story needs to get going more. Please: REVIEW, FOLLOW, FAVORITE, ETC. Thanks!**


	11. Chapter 11: On an instinct

**Finally! Things are going to get interesting…**

**Thanks to JazKhanom for reviewing! Everyone else, please read and _REVIEW_!**

**__****Disclaimer: Though this would be a dream come true, I DO NOT OWN SAILOR MOON!**

Chapter 11: On an instinct

Serena and Darien spent three hours at the local art gallery, walking around and looking at the many works of art. They didn't really talk much, just occasionally pointing out a work of art and commenting on it, but that was okay; instead, they found satisfaction in just observing the art, and of course, sneaking quick glances at each other.

Outside the art gallery, Darien looked at his watch. "3:00." He turned to Serena. "What do you want to do now?"

"Um…" Serena thought for a moment, but someone else answered the question. She looked down at her stomach, which rumbled, and then up at Darien, her face turning a slight bit red. "I guess I _could_ maybe go for some food," she answered, smiling sheepishly.

Darien laughed. "Sounds good to me."

They went to a cute, quaint little café and got some sandwiches and coffee. Once they were all full, Darien suggested that they go to the mall.

"The mall?" Serena asked, uncertainty in her voice. "I don't really like the mall, but…I guess I should give it a chance. I've never been there."

"It's pretty big, and they have some nice stores, besides the normal ones."

"Right. I'll give it shot."

They pulled into the mall parking lot and walked into the food court. The first store to their left was a trinket store. Serena walked over to it and gazed into the window.

"Wow. That's some neat things they have in there."

Darien went to stand next to her. "Want to do some window shopping?" Darien asked her as he noticed her interest in the trinket store.

"You don't mind?" Serena asked, worried that he would be bored.

He shook his head and shrugged. "It's fine."

"Cool!" She walked into the store and immediately began looking around.

Darien watched as Serena took her time examining and sometimes even playing with the different trinkets in the shop. There were porcelain figurines, little knick-knacks, pictures, posters, you name it.

Darien himself found the store rather fascinating and couldn't help but look around also.

"Oh my gosh!" Serena exclaimed. Darien came over to her.

"What?"

She held up a snow globe. Inside, there was a yellow crescent moon with a red rose wrapped around it. From the upper tip of the crescent, a crystal star was hanging off it.

"I have never seen a snow globe like this ever! It's so beautiful! I wonder what song it plays." She wound it up below and held it closely to her ear. "Oh! It's the theme from Swan Lake!" She whispered, obviously mystified. She put it on the shelf. "I'm going to buy this!" She took hold of it once more.

Just then, they saw a young red-haired girl around the age of seven with her mother come by. "Where is it?" The little girl seemed distressed. She then spotted the globe in Serena's hands and pointed. "That's it! That's the globe I wanted to buy Mommy!"

The woman looked to Serena. "Sorry!" She then looked down at her daughter. "Sweety, that lady is going to buy it. We can get you another one, okay?"

"Well, okay Mommy." The mother walked away, while the little girl looked for a moment before sadly turning away.

"Wait!" The little girl turned around, as did her mother. Serena walked up to girl and knelt down. "Here. I want _you_ to have this."

"It's okay. You can have it," the girl conceded.

"Please, miss. You can keep it," the mother added.

Serena shook her head. "No, no. That won't do. I can tell from the look in your eyes how much you love this snow globe."

The girl nodded. "I saved up all of my allowance money for a month just to buy it!"

"Well, then I would be more than happy to let you have it!"

"Really?" The young girl asked, hope in their eyes.

"Really!" Serena smiled kindly at the young girl, handing the globe to her.

"But don't you…?" The girl questioned, looking a little sad.

Serena shook her head again. "I would be much happier to know that the globe is with someone who really loves it and who I know for sure will take good care of it."

"Thank you so much!" The little girl hugged Serena, who was at first surprised, but was quick to return the hug.

"You're welcome."

The little girl ran off towards the counter, pulling a little purse out of her pocket. Serena stood up and smiled. She then turned to the mother, who had watched the exchange.

"Thank you. You didn't need to do that."

"It's okay! She obviously loves it immensely. I'd feel bad if she didn't get it. Please, don't worry about me! I don't mind at all!"

"Mommy! Aren't you coming?" The little girl called impatiently.

"Coming! Thank you again. Bye." She waved at Serena as she walked to her daughter.

Serena waved back. Serena turned to Darien. "Let's go do some more window shopping!"

The two of them walked out of the store. Darien was amazed. Serena had been so considerate to that little girl, just another random act of kindness that showed what a sweet girl she was.

"That was very nice of you, Serena."

Serena shrugged, brushing it off. "It was nothing really. It actually made my day. Didn't you see that cute little girl's face when she saw the globe? How could I _not_ give it to her?"

They spent another hour walking all through the mall, sometimes stopping at the window of a store and even walking inside to explore. The pair was walking past a Hollister store. Next thing they knew, they heard these two teens scream, "Oh my gosh! IT'S SERENA STERLING!" Serena squeezed her eyes shut and turned to face the store, opening them. Darien also looked to see that many people in the store, teen girls mainly, turned their attention to Serena.

"Darien?" She whispered.

"Yeah Serena?" He also whispered, although he wasn't exactly sure _why_ they were whispering.

"Run."

"Why?"

"Just…follow me!" Serena grabbed Darien's wrist and ran. Darien looked back and realized why running was a good idea. A huge group of girls were now stampeding after them.

"Where do we go?!" He called out to Serena.

"Anywhere that they can't get to us!"

They had run up a set of stairs to the upper level of the mall. Serena's eyes darted all around the area until a smile appeared on her face. "Bingo!" She said quietly as she dragged Darien towards the Old Navy shop. Unfortunately, it seemed that someone inside the store had spotted her and screamed aloud. "Serena Sterling!"

"Or not!" Serena called out. She saw a crowd standing near a booth where a demonstration was being done, and she went towards it. The stampeding crowd that was previously following them tried to push through the current crowd. At this point, Serena and Darien were hiding behind a photo booth. Serena tried to find a store they could hide in. She looked at the entrance of the store they were right in front of, but she wasn't too comfortable with it.

She carefully peeked from behind their hiding place to see that the group was still there and had even grown bigger. There was only one way for them to escape unseen.

She sighed defeatedly and turned to Darien. "Sorry in advance Darien, but we have no other choice."

Darien tried to figure out what she was sorry for, but Serena yanked him from their hiding spot and led him straight into a store. "Why are you…" He looked to see which store they were in. "Oh." He turned beet red.

Serena nodded, her face red as well. "I know. This was a last resort. Come on. Let's find the exit and get out of here!"

After about two minutes of getting lost in the store, Darien and Serena made it outside to the parking lot. They quickly ran to Darien's car, which was luckily not too far away. They stopped and leaned against the vehicle, gasping for breath.

"Whoa. That was intense," Darien said between breaths.

"Yeah…I didn't…think that…people would…recognize me." Serena took big, deep breaths. Finally, their breathing went back to normal. "Bad assumption on my part." She turned to Darien. "Sorry about that whole ordeal and dragging you all around the mall and into that…_that_ store."

Darien shook his head. "Don't worry about it. As for the store, well…I think I'll get over it."

"I'm not so sure _I_ will. Sabrina insists that she shop there. I don't know why though." She looked at her watch now. "We spent two hours in the mall. That has to be a record for me! What should we do now?"

"Maybe we should head back home. It's possible that Thomas and Sabrina are back."

"Good point. To home it is!"

* * *

Turns out that Sabrina and Thomas were _not_ home. Serena made Darien a cup of coffee and a cup of tea herself. They sat at the table together, sipping on their respective drinks.

"I wonder what those two have been doing all day," Darien wondered aloud.

"I know. I can't imagine that they've been shopping all this time. Surely if that is the case, then Thomas must've gone crazy." They both laughed. Serena held her in chin in her left hand and traced the rim of her cup with her right index finger as she stared out the glass doors.

Darien watched her intently. She seemed to have this faraway look in her eyes, and she was frowning. He was ready to ask her what was wrong when she shook herself out of her trance-like state and looked down at her cup. She took a hasty sip of her tea and sighed. She looked to Darien and smiled. "I think I might go and do some studying."

"Sure. I might just go watch some TV."

She nodded. Taking her cup to the sink, she walked up the stairs to her room.

* * *

It was 7:45 when Serena decided to stop studying for the time being. She had yet to hear Thomas and Sabrina come back, and so she decided to join Darien and watch some TV. He was sitting in the living room, and Serena walked in there. For a moment, she hesitated at the door, thinking back to what had happened last time she was in there; however, she just took a deep breath in and walked in.

"Hey Darien! Mind if I join you?"

"Huh? Oh, Serena! I didn't even notice you come in. Yeah, sure. I don't mind." He moved over a little so that she had space to sit. Luna and Artemis were there too.

"You guys watching TV too?" Serena asked playfully.

"More or less," Artemis responded.

Serena nodded her head. "So…what exactly are you watching?"

"Funny you should ask. You."

"I'm sorry?"

"You, Serena. We're watching you," Luna said.

"Me?" Now Serena was _really_ confused.

"We're watching that interview you gave, the one before the band ended," Artemis clarified.

"Ah. _That_ interview." Serena looked at the TV screen as she saw herself appear. Her interviewer, Joannie, welcomed them back to the program.

"So, to wrap things up Serena, you were going to talk about your movie, 'Life of a Rose,' for which you won not one but _two _Oscars. **(AN: I forgot to mention that Serena made a movie based on her own life story about anorexia. She stars as a girl named Rosalinda, aka Rose, who struggles immensely and ends up starving herself. In the end, she dies. Serena not only acts in the movie, but she wrote the script, directed it, and sang a song in it.)** Everyone wants to know where the inspiration for this powerful movie came from."

Serena watched herself shift in her chair on the TV screen. "Right. There was a reason why I left this for last. The inspiration for this movie, well…this might come as a shock to everyone, but this story is actually the story of someone I know."

"And who is that?"

"Me."

Joannie's eyes widened. "Yours?" Serena nodded.

"Yes, the story is mine, just a little tweaked." She took a deep breath in. "When I was about nine years old, I developed anorexia. Like Rose, it was when I passed out in gym class that I was officially diagnosed. Unlike her though, I was very willing to go through rehab, and after a year, I recovered."

"I'm sure that's quite a shock for your fans. What led you to develop the eating disorder?"

"I can't go into major details, but…I…well…I was a little different from the other kids I went to school with, and I was teased and bullied about it. I was always a reserved kid when I was young, so I never really told anyone about it, not even my parents." Luna looked at Serena. She knew that was a lie. She could see it on Serena's face, both on the screen _and_ on the Serena who was sitting on the couch watching the interview.

"I tried to change myself in many ways, to get people to like me. Finally, I decided that maybe, if I ate less and got skinnier, that people would like me. It didn't work of course, and I ended up hurting myself."

"What were your emotions at the time when you would starve yourself?"

"I felt…hatred…towards myself. I felt ugly and…worthless. And honestly, I felt hopeless…and alone. Incredibly alone. I reached the final straw at that point, and I had nothing else to turn to."

The interview went on for another ten minutes, with the final question being: "You could've kept quiet about this whole eating disorder thing, but you didn't. Why?"

"Because I want to be an example for other youngsters, for everyone. An example being that just because you may have had, or have, an eating disorder, let it be anorexia, bulimia, whatever, that you don't need to lose hope and think that you're a lost cause, because you aren't. You still have a chance. You can still be successful. I mean, I had anorexia when I was nine, but look at me now. I am pretty well off right now. I want people to realize that they _do _have a chance, that they don't need to let their disorder define them or let it haunt them for the rest of their lives."

With a few more words, the interview ended. The TV was shut off. No one said a single word. The mood was quite solemn in the room.

Luna hoped off the chair and walked to the door. She turned to look at Artemis and motioned for him to follow her. He was confused, but came when Luna glared at him.

Outside the room, Artemis turned to Luna. "Why did we leave?"

"Because the tension in that room was too thick. Plus…I think maybe they'd like to talk alone."

"Why do you think that?"

"I…oh, I don't know Artemis! Call it intuition or whatever! It's just best that we leave them alone for now." With that said, they both walked away.

* * *

Serena just stared at the blank TV screen. She then felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to face Darien. "Are you…okay, Serena?"

She saw the concern in his blue eyes. She realized then that she was staring into them for a moment too much. She averted her gaze quickly and forced a small laugh. "Yeah, yeah. I'm okay." She turned to him. "I guess that interview brought back some painful memories, you know?" She looked to the TV screen. "It was hard for me to do that interview." She then turned to him. "But I felt I owed it to my fans, and I also wanted to reveal my secret before everyone read about it in the book," she continued, referring to the autobiography she wrote.

"Well, I think it was really brave of you to go on TV like that and tell everyone about it."

She looked at him, astounded. "R…really?"

He nodded. "I wasn't able to talk about my own past to my best friends, let alone a whole group of people." She nodded, and turned away. He had long since let go of her shoulder. His hand now made its way to her arm. "Serena. I'm sorry. About everything that happened to you. I know it must've been hard for you, being that young, having gone through everything you did and knowing so much about your past. But you bounced back and showed the world that you wouldn't let any of that get you down. That's amazing."

She sighed gently. "Thanks Darien." On an instinct, Darien moved closer to her. He hesitated for an instant, and then approached her for a hug. They speedily pulled away from each other, letting an awkward silence fill the air.

"Um…thanks," Serena said, pushing a lock of her hair behind her ear.

"No…no problem."

They heard the front door open, so they got up to go and greet Thomas and Sabrina, hoping their faces didn't look as red as they thought they were.

**Well, it seems like the situation is changing. Boy was this chapter **_**long**_**! I think it might be the longest one even. From the looks of where things are going, I think that the next chapter might **_**actually**_** be the last chapter of this first part. I **_**think**_**. I can't say for sure, but it seems very possible. Please do REVIEW, favorite, follow, etc. Thanks!**


	12. Chapter 12: What other choice do I have?

_**AN: Thank you to Maddy who left a nice review on Chapter 4 on November 30**__**th**__**! Your review made my day and gave me the motivation I was severely lacking to type up this chapter! I hope you're still enjoying the story! And thank you to the guest for their question as to how many chapters I'm planning. To sort of answer that question, this is the last chapter for this first part of the series. As for how many parts, there are probably going to be at least three more. **_

_**Please do feel free to leave me more reviews! I love reading them!**_

_**WARNING: This chapter is super-long, the longest one in this whole story! **_

_****__**Disclaimer: Though this would be a dream come true, I DO NOT OWN SAILOR MOON!**_

Chapter 12: What other choice do I have?

**Thomas and Sabrina had returned from their shopping trip turned date night. Sabrina informed Serena of the many purchases they made, while Thomas complained to Darien about how he never wanted to go shopping again. The four friends finally decided to call it a night and went to bed.**

* * *

"_You must assume your rightful role." A voice whispered. _

_Serena opened her eyes and looked around. The area she was in was dark and cloudy. She couldn't see more than two feet in front of her. "Who's there?"_

_"Serena…" The voice called out._

"_Who are you? What do you want from me?!" She spoke a little louder._

"_You must prepare to take responsibility. You were chosen."_

"_Responsibility? Chosen? What are you talking about?!" Serena was now yelling. "Show yourself!"_

_But no one appeared. All she could hear was that menacing voice. "Soon…soon…"_

_Serena groaned in frustration and plopped down hard on the floor. "Soon what?" she asked desperately. _

"_Soon, you will have to…" The voice was cut off._

Serena was asleep in her bed, or rather was _trying_ to sleep. Over the past few nights, Serena had been having some strange dreams. Tonight was no different. It was always the same thing, a voice telling her what she would need to do soon. As before, when she questioned it, it wouldn't respond to her question, but would just repeat and emphasize what it previously said. She had yet to identify who the voice belonged to.

Tonight was a little different though. The voice was beginning to possibly tell her what she would have to do, the rest being a total mystery of course.

Serena opened her eyes and sat up in her bed, and she was _not_ happy. Something had interrupted her dream when it was _finally_ progressing, and she was going to find out what it was.

She got up and looked outside the window. She had heard a noise come from outside, the noise that cut off the voice in her dream. She blinked a couple of times as everything was blurry.

'Oh, duh! I'm not wearing my contacts!' Serena went to her bedside table and got her glasses. Popping them on, she quickly went back to the window. Her eyes scanned the backyard. Not noticing anything, she was about to turn away when a sudden movement caught her attention. She narrowed her eyes and watched something, or rather, someone, lurking in the shadows. Hastily grabbing her black night robe and a flashlight, both of which she kept readily near her bedroom door, she quietly opened the door. She gently closed it and turned around.

"Whoa!"

"Oh!" Serena squeaked, then held a hand to her mouth to prevent any further noises from coming out. Listening, she silently let out a breath, knowing that Sabrina and Thomas had not woken up.

"Serena? What are you doing up at this hour? You should be sleeping!" Darien whispered to her.

"I could ask you that same question, but I'll choose to answer instead. I heard something outside, and I could've sworn I saw someone out in the backyard."

"Funny. I heard a sound too, and I was just headed out to go take a look. Wanna come with me?"

"Sure."

Darien and Serena sneaked their way quietly through the hall past Sabrina and Thomas's rooms and successfully got outside to the patio.

"How about you take the left side, and I'll check the right side?" Darien asked her.

"Sounds good."

The two of them brandished their flashlights and walked around their designated search areas, hoping to find the prowler. After ten minutes of searching, they both met back at the patio.

"No luck," Serena declared, quite disappointed.

"Yeah, me neither." He then looked up at the night sky. "Well, hopefully, whoever it was, they didn't mean any harm and won't come back."

"Right." Serena went to open the patio door to head back inside. "We should probably go back to sleep."

Darien nodded and followed her back inside. Although they both reassured each other nothing was the matter, they couldn't help but be a little worried. The compound was supposed to be very secure. People couldn't just randomly enter as they pleased. It would to take _a lot_ of work to do so. So the question was, who entered and more so, why?

* * *

Serena and Darien just so happened to wake up at about 8:00. They went down to the kitchen together, only to be surprised to see that Thomas and Sabrina were already up.

"Good afternoon, you two! Glad to see that you guys decided to _finally_ join us!" Sabrina used an exaggerated voice as she smiled gleefully.

"You mean good morning Sabrina. Just because you woke up earlier than we did doesn't mean that it's automatically the afternoon," Serena responded tiredly as she plopped down into one of the dining chairs.

"Well, you two look tired!" Thomas called out in a chipper voice as he brought out two cups of coffee. "I thought I would be nice and get you guys some coffee for breakfast!" He placed the two down in front of Darien and Serena, who both thanked him.

"Yeah. You guys do look tired! Didn't get a lot of sleep last night?" Sabrina asked, a sympathetic smile on her face.

They shook their heads. They had mutually agreed _not_ to inform the other two about the potential prowler, since they didn't have any evidence, and with the reasoning that it might just have been a one-time thing. They felt it was not necessary to worry Thomas and Sabrina about it.

"Oh, I know! Probably having nightmares I bet," Sabrina began. Serena's face paled a little. How would Sabrina know that? "Nightmares about Victoria's Secret, I presume?"

Serena gasped, her face turning tomato red. Darien was drinking his coffee when Sabrina spoke and was now coughing. Thomas hit him hard on the back a few times.

Once he recovered from his induced coughing fit, Darien turned to Sabrina. "How…how did you…"

"I saw you two in there yesterday at the mall!" Sabrina turned to Serena. "Now, Serena. I never thought I would see the day when _you_ would go and shop there."

"Shop there? That place was the closest hideout for Darien and me." Seeing the confused look on Thomas and Sabrina's faces, Serena relayed to them the whole story of how a group of their fans were at the mall and that in spotting Serena, they began chasing her and Darien all through the mall.

"Unfortunately, Victoria's Secret was the only store we could into that they wouldn't see us enter. Luckily, they _didn't_ see us, and we were able to get to the parking lot without too much of a hassle," Serena finished.

"Well, sounds like you were 'Living the dream' one more time Serena!" Sabrina teased.

"Living the dream?" Thomas repeated.

"It's a band inside joke. The three of us were living our dreams being in a band and being famous, but being chased all the time by fans wasn't exactly something we were completely fond of, but it's still part of living our dream. It's supposed to be sarcastic," Serena explained.

"Well, being chased by crazed fans or not, know this: I am _never_ going to let you live this down!"

Serena sighed, placing her head in her hands. "I had worried feeling that you were going to say that."

* * *

It was about five o'clock in the evening. After sitting around watching TV and eating lunch, the group dispersed. Darien was off at the library to get some work done. Serena had suggested to Sabrina that she go outside and enjoy the wonderful weather, and Sabrina agrees. Sabrina immediately got bored and decided to coerce Thomas into coming outside. Thomas had still been watching TV after Darien left and eventually had no other choice but to come outside.

So now, while Serena was reading her book outside on the swing with Luna and Artemis napping on either side of her, Sabrina and Thomas were playing Frisbee.

"Serena, you were right." Serena looked up from her book at Sabrina, who was holding a purple Frisbee in her hand. "The weather is great today! It would've been a shame to waste it!"

Serena smiled and watched for a moment as Sabrina and Thomas tossed the Frisbee back and forth before turning back to her book.

Thomas threw the Frisbee a little too far, and it went off, past the stepping stones and the pavilion to the garden beyond.

"I'll get it!" She yelled to him as she ran to the stepping stones. Hopping on each one, she soon disappeared into the depths of the backyard.

Thomas went to sit in one of the patio chairs near the swing Serena was on. "Boy am I tired!"

"Already? You must be getting out of shape then!" Serena teased as she closed her book and placed it on a stone nearby.

"Sad to say, you're probably right. I haven't been working out for the past two months. I need to get to the gym, but it's hard to get the motivation."

"Why not go with Darien?" Serena suggested as she petted the sleeping Luna.

Thomas scoffed. "Darien doesn't go to the gym. He usually jogs around the neighborhood everyday bright and early at 5 o'clock in the morning."

"Really? Wow. That's good that he's still doing that." Serena looked at Thomas, smiling. "How about you join him then?"

"And get up_ that_ early in the morning? I don't think so! Plus, Darien had suggested that idea to me one too many times. You know…maybe I'll go to the gym with Sabrina. Back in the day, we would go to the gym together. It'll be like good old times."

"Speaking of Sabrina, where is she?" Serena asked as she looked towards the direction Sabrina had gone off. "It shouldn't take this long to get the Frisbee, should it?"

Thomas waved his hand. "Don't worry. She probably just got lost, or she could still be looking for the Frisbee."

Serena stood up. "Still…I think we should go look for her." She then smirked at Thomas. "It's good exercise."

Thomas rolled his eyes. "I'll tag along, but not for the exercise." Serena shook her head as she walked towards the stepping stones. With each step she took, Serena couldn't help the odd feeling coming over her. She couldn't quite figure out what it was, but it wasn't exactly a good thing. They were able to quickly get past the pavilion and to the garden.

"Maybe she's hiding?" Thomas suggested.

"Yeah, maybe." Serena sounded as unconvinced as she felt. She looked around and began to call out. "Sabrina! Sabrina!"

Thomas followed in suite. "Sabrina!"

"I'm over here!" They turned in the direction of the voice and saw a hand pop up in the air momentarily before going down again, only to appear a few more times.

"See? Nothing to fear!" Thomas said to Serena.

"Did you find the Frisbee?!" Serena yelled. Serena knew she should feel relieved, but she was still feeling uneasy and on edge.

"No! Still looking…oh wait!" They now saw the Frisbee in the air. "Found it! Oh! What is that?"

"What's what?" Thomas asked.

"It looks like there's something…"

Next thing they knew, Thomas and Serena heard a scream.

"Sabrina!" They called out as they ran to where she was. They both skidded to a stop at one of the gardens. Unlike the rose garden at the edge of the yard, there was no arbor for this garden; however, there were bushes that made it secluded.

Thomas looked to Sabrina, who was shaking a little. Her eyes were wide and filled with fear.

"Sabrina. Are you okay?" Thomas went up to her and pulled her close to him.

"Yes…I just…I thought I saw something move." She looked up at Thomas, a bright smile on her face. "Don't worry. I'm fine."

"Good!" He leaned down to give her quick kiss.

Serena inspected the area. There were many purple-colored flowers, which she soon identified as being petunias. She sighed a little. 'I'm just being paranoid.' Her eyes then focused on another flower. A bright yellow flower. "A daffodil." She did a 360, looking to see if there were any more daffodils. "That's odd…there's just one."

All of a sudden, the daffodil moved.

"Whoa!" Serena called out, catching Thomas and Sabrina's attention.

"What's wrong?" Thomas asked, staring at Serena.

"That daffodil just moved."

"Daffodil? But this is a petunia garden," Thomas pointed out, but then he saw the daffodil too.

"So it wasn't just me then? You saw it move too Serena?" Sabrina asked, the fear back in her voice.

Serena nodded. "You guys…we need to get out of here. Now."

"Why?" Thomas demanded.

"I don't really know, but something tells me that we shouldn't stick around to find out."

Serena had turned to leave when she heard Sabrina shriek. She turned back around and saw that the daffodil was now near Thomas and Sabrina. It began growing bigger and morphing, until it became a yellow creature.

"You guys! Get away from that thing!" Serena called out.

Thomas stood in front of Sabrina. "What is that thing?" Sabrina asked, cowering behind Thomas.

"I'm your worst nightmare, sweety!" The creature answered in a witch-like voice. The "thing" looked at Thomas. "It's your girlfriend I want buddy, not you! So step aside."

Thomas glared at the monster. "Not in a million years."

"Suite yourself." The monster blasted a whole bunch of yellow petals which knocked Thomas to the side.

"Thomas!" Sabrina yelled.

"Sabrina!" Serena began running towards the monster. "Get away from her you!"

But the monster just pushed her aside. It spotted Thomas getting up, and snapped its fingers, which looked a lot like the roots of a flower.

Serena watched in shock as Thomas was tied down to the ground with vines that appeared from the ground. She was about to move herself when she felt vines hold her against the stone wall that was nearby. She struggled.

"You let us go, you crazy monster!" Thomas tried to wiggle himself free to no avail.

"Not in a million years," the monster answered, mimicking Thomas and cackling loudly. Then it all of a sudden stopped. "Now, time to get my prize!" It looked at Sabrina, who was stationary in her place.

"Sabrina! Run!" Serena yelled, but she watched as Sabrina just stood there, clearly overcome with shock to be able to do anything other than just stay where she was.

The evil being was making its way closer to Sabrina when two voices called out.

"What's going on here?!" Artemis came into the garden, followed by Luna.

"What is that?" Luna motioned to the monster.

"Oh no! More distractions!" With a flick of its wrist, Luna and Artemis joined Serena in being tied to stone wall.

"What is that Serena?" Luna asked.

"I have no idea! It just kind of appeared, or rather, it was originally a daffodil!" Serena was trying to figure out what to do.

"Now, I can finally introduce myself." The monster took a step forward, and Sabrina took a step back. "My name is Daffodilla."

"That's a funny name! It sounds like gorilla, or Godzilla!" Serena shook her head. Leave to Sabrina to joke around at a time like this.

"It's supposed to be menacing!" Daffodilla boomed, its yellow color changing to red. But then she smiled and turned blue. "Nevertheless, what I'm about to do to you," she pointed a long rooty finger at Sabrina. "Now _that _will be menacing."

Sabrina backed away more, only to find herself trapped when she felt the big bush behind her. "Please don't hurt me!"

"Oh, but I'm afraid I have to. Sorry!" Daffodilla remarked sarcastically. Next thing they all knew, from one of her hands, a beam of yellow light shot out at Sabrina. Sabrina was screaming in pain.

"Sabrina!" Thomas yelled. The dread he felt came out in his voice.

"Sabrina!" Serena shrieked, pulling hard at the vines to try to budge them. "Stop! Stop hurting her!" Serena shook her head furiously. "I have to do something!"

Finally, Sabrina's shoulders drooped a little, and something came out of her. It floated to Daffodilla, who then grasped it in her hand. Sabrina had passed out and fell to the ground.

"Now, to see if this is the right crystal," Daffodilla examined the object in her hands and frowned. "Oh no! This _isn't_ the crystal!" She shrugged. "Oh well! I can use the energy from it for master!"

"What is that you took out of my girlfriend?!" Thomas demanded, his face red with anger.

"You want to know what this is buddy?" The monster revealed the object it had extracted from Sabrina. It was crystal shaped like a heart. It looked almost like a diamond, and light sprung out from it. "This is your precious girlfriend's soul crystal."

"Soul crystal?"

"Yes, her soul crystal, which carries the very essence of her. These crystals can contain a lot of power and without it in her body… after a period of time…" she turned to look at Sabrina on the ground, then back at Thomas, smiling maliciously. "She'll die."

"NO! I won't let her die!"

* * *

"_What is that you took out of my girlfriend?!" Thomas demanded, his face red with anger._

Serena listened to the monster and was surprised. "Soul crystals?" She looked down at Luna, who had just spoken. "Have you heard of those Artemis?"

Artemis shook his head. "No, I haven't."

"I have." The two felines looked up at Serena. Before they could further ask her, they turned back to the exchange between Thomas and Daffodilla. She had just heard the monster mention how without the crystal, Sabrina would eventually die. "I have to do something!" Serena exclaimed.

"Like what Serena?" Artemis questioned.

"Anything. Anything I can to save Sabrina!"

"Well…you could…maybe…" Luna hesitated.

"Transform?" Luna looked up at Serena in disbelief, but nodded. "Into Sailor Moon right?"

"Yes, that is what I was sort of thinking."

Serena sighed in frustration. "I wish I could…but I can't."

"What do you mean?" Artemis asked, clearly stunned.

"The silver crystal…it disappeared after I left the scouts."

"When you were kicked out you mean," Luna said.

"Right. So now I can't transform." Serena watched as the monster sent an attack towards Thomas, causing him to get hurt. 'There has to be something I can do! To help Thomas.' Her eyes drifted to Sabrina. 'Sabrina. I can't let her die. She's my best friend. I have to save her, get her soul crystal back.' Serena looked up at the sky and squeezed her eyes. 'Please,' she thought. 'Please! I need a way to help my friends! Show me a way!' All of a sudden, something hit her. She opened her eyes, and looked down at her hands. "It's worth a shot. I hope this works." Luna and Artemis turned their gazes at Serena, and then looked to each other, wondering what she was going to do.

Serena raised her right hand in the air, since it wasn't restrained by a vine. "Moon…Make up!" She called out. She felt a familiar sensation flow throughout her body. Ribbons wrapped around her as she spun around. The ribbons then disintegrated, and in their place, was her uniform. Serena landed on the ground, free from the vines, and was now in her trademark pose, holding a peace sign over her forehead and one hand on her hip.

Serena looked down at her outfit. She was now wearing a blue miniskirt that was connected to a white bodysuit. A red ribbon was on her chest, a gold, circular brooch in the center of it. She looked at her gloved hands, and then went to touch her hair. She had a ball of hair on each side. She grabbed one of the ponytails that came out of the ball and held it in front of her. Her once jet black hair was now blonde. She looked behind her to find another ribbon at the small of her back. She finally touched her forehead and found her tiara.

"Serena…you…you transformed…you're…"

"Sailor Moon." Luna finished Artemis's sentence.

Serena, or rather, Sailor Moon, took a deep breath in, and then began to speak in an authoritative tone. "Hey you!"

Daffodilla was standing near Thomas, and the two of them looked over to her.

"Who are you?" Daffodilla asked, clearly annoyed at the sight of a new person.

"Sailor Moon?!" Thomas wasn't sure if he was seeing things, or if the super heroine he had heard all about was actually in front of him.

"That's right! I'm Sailor Moon! Champion of Love and Justice! I will right wrongs and triumph over evil! In the name of the moon, I will punish you."

"Sailor Moon?! Ah, master told me I might encounter you! No worries, I can take care of you!"

Daffodilla aimed an attack at Sailor Moon, who easily dodged it. "Oh don't be so happy! I've got better attacks than that!" Daffodilla began aiming many attacks at the sailor scout, who was able to avoid all of them. Unfortunately though, she was hit a little by one attack, causing her arm to get a little bruised. Another attack hit her, and she ended up on the ground. Sailor Moon glared at Daffodilla.

"You're done for now, moon brat!" Daffodilla gathered a ball of energy in her arms and got ready to aim it at Sailor Moon, who was finally able to get up off the ground. She saw the attack coming for her and knew she couldn't get out of the way in time.

Just then, she saw something zip through the air, and next thing she knew, something was wrapping itself around her waist and hoisting her up. She watched as Daffodilla had released her attack on accident when she got distracted by the thing that went through the air. Sailor Moon looked to see that the object was a rose. A red rose.

It wasn't just something that held her. It was a pair of strong arms, holding her in an all-too-familiar way. Sailor Moon craned her neck to see that it was none other than Tuxedo Mask who was holding her. He placed her down on the ground a little ways away from the monster.

"You alright Sailor Moon?" He asked.

"Yes, thanks to you Tuxedo Mask."

"Don't mention it. Now we should get back to the battle." He began running ahead, but then stopped and turned to her. "Oh, and Sailor Moon?"

"Yes?"

He smiled. "It's good to have you back."

She smiled in return. "Thanks. It's good to be back…temporarily." She then looked to the monster. "Time to moon dust her!"

They ran back to the monster, which turned to see them enter the garden. "Oh great. Another one! What are you supposed to be, a caped canary?"

"No. I am Tuxedo Mask, guardian of the Earth and sailor scouts. How dare you try to wreak havoc in this quiet and lovely garden? Gardens are meant to be places for people to enjoy and feel safe in! I won't allow you to contaminate it with your evil!" He aimed a whole bunch of roses at the monster, and they proved to have an effect. They impaled Daffodilla and stayed in her skin.

Sailor Moon saw her chance. Daffodilla was now pulling the thorn-like roses off her body, yelping every time she pulled one out. Sailor Moon held out her right hand, and in it, a sparkly silver whip materialized. "Silver moon….whip!" She twirled the whip around her head and aimed it at the monster.

The whip wrapped itself around Daffodilla and became tighter and tighter. "No! What's happening?!" She then began turning to dust, from her feet to her head. As she was disintegrating, she yelled, "You'll pay for this, moon brat!" All that was left of her was a pile of moon dust.

Sailor Moon coiled the whip, and it disappeared.

"Great job Sailor Moon."

She turned to Tuxedo Mask. "Thanks. You did a good job too. Without that distraction, I couldn't have trapped her that easily." She then turned to Thomas. The vines had disappeared when Daffodilla was destroyed. She and Tuxedo Mask ran to him. Kneeling down, she held out a gloved hand to him. "You okay Thomas?"

He nodded and took her hand. She helped him stand up. He stared at her long and hard, trying to identify her. "Serena?" His grey eyes pierced her baby blue ones.

Sailor Moon nodded. "Yes, it's me."

Thomas now eyed Tuxedo Mask. "Darien?" Tuxedo Mask nodded. Thomas now nodded, and then his eyes hit Sabrina. "Sabrina!" He ran towards her, as did Luna and Artemis.

Tuxedo Mask began walking in Thomas's direction when he noticed Sailor Moon bending down to grab something. "What is that?"

"This?" She motioned to the crystal she now held carefully in her hands. "It's Sabrina's soul crystal."

"Soul crystal?"

She nodded. "That was what that creep wanted." She walked over to Thomas, who was now sitting on the ground and had pulled Sabrina into his lap.

"Why won't she wake up?" He asked desperately.

"Here." He saw the crystal held in front of him, and then looked to Sailor Moon. "Hold it close to her chest, and it should go back in," she spoke softly.

Thomas took the crystal from her possession and did as she told him to. He watched as the crystal entered Sabrina's body.

Sabrina began stirring. "Mmm…Thomas?"

Thomas smiled and leaned down to kiss her cheek. "Yeah, it's me."

"What happened?" Sabrina asked, suddenly sitting up.

"Easy, easy." Sabrina saw a blonde haired girl wearing an odd sailor's outfit talking to her.

"Who are…" She stopped herself. "Wait…you're…You're Sailor Moon, aren't you?" The scout nodded. "So that means that you're also…Serena?"

Sailor Moon nodded, and touched the brooch on her chest, and detransformed into Serena. "It's me."

"So that means you're Tuxedo Mask…no. Darien!" Sabrina was pointing to Tuxedo Mask, who changed back to Darien and nodded. "Thanks you guys! All of you! You saved my life!"

"No problem Sabrina," Serena answered.

"Why did that…thing…want my soul crystal?" Sabrina wondered aloud.

"Don't know," Thomas began. "She did mention something about her master though."

"Which would be me!" A voice boomed above them. The four adults and the two cats looked up to see a dark cloud.

"Tell us who you are!" Serena glared at the cloud.

The voice from the cloud snickered. "Be patient. You'll find out. All in due time. But do keep this mind. Don't think that this was some random attack." Luna and Artemis exchanged glances. They had just been discussing the attack and thought it was random. The cloud continued. "I _will_ continue to send out monsters such as the one you so bravely fought today, stronger ones, to find the right soul crystal. So beware…this is just the beginning." The cloud dissipated, and now silence filled the air.

"Come on everyone. Let's get inside," Serena said.

* * *

Once they went into the house, everyone was checking on Sabrina, asking her multiple times if she was okay until she firmly requested that they stop, insisting that she was fine. The group then decided to watch a movie to take their minds off the attack.

That night, when everyone was in bed, Serena was outside, standing near the edge of the pool. She was gazing up at the moon.

"Serena," a voice called out.

Serena looked down next to her. "Luna. It's late. What are you doing out here?"

"What are _you_ doing out here?"

"Nothing." Serena turned her attention back to the moon.

"You're worried about this new enemy, aren't you?" Serena nodded. "I could see the worry etched on your face all throughout the night." She paused. "I was surprised when you summoned your transformation. That was amazing." She saw Serena nod her head, and she mumbled a thanks. Luna hesitated for a moment, and then spoke up. "I know you didn't want to have to fight again, Serena." Serena wrapped her arms around herself tightly. "I can understand that. It probably brings back bad memories…If you want…I could call the other scouts…or maybe we could find new scouts who could fight instead…"

Serena cut her off, shaking her head. "No Luna. I had a decision to make during that battle. A decision as to whether or not I would re-assume my role as Sailor Moon, the soldier of the Moon. I made my decision." Her eyes landed on Luna once more. "I have decided to take on my persona of Sailor Moon once more."

"But Serena…are you sure? Is that what you _really_ want?"

Serena averted her gaze to the reflection of the moon on the pool water, the water ripples causing the reflection to be rippled as well. "Yes."

Luna stood there next to Serena for a while. Finally the silence became unbearable. "Goodnight Serena."

"Goodnight Luna."

Luna walked back inside the house with Serena watching her.

Serena's eyes reached the sight of the moon once more. She whispered softly. "What other choice do I have?"

**So who's the new enemy? And what exactly is he/she after? This and more will be revealed in the second part/installment of **_**Sailor Moon: Eternal Universe**_**. **

**OMG. I did it. I actually did it. I completed the story! No longer do I have to mark this story as in-progress! Major milestone for me! Please tell me how you thought this story was, and be on the lookout for the second part. I have finals coming up soon and a whole bunch of work to do before that, so it might not be out until at least two weeks. Maybe. I'll have to see how things go. Anyway, please do review, favorite, follow me, etc. Thanks for reading this story and giving it a chance! ~ Sailor Moonie Fan**


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